Destroying Sam
by fishcaked
Summary: Sam has had a very protective life within the Blakeley Academy for her entire life. Whilst studying her degree, someone left their child in the care of Sam, and ever since she's been juggling working at Blakeley and raising Nic. A few hours away, Michael receives a named letter telling him of a daughter he never knew - but will he be able to find Nicole without risking her or Sam?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

'I can't do it anymore,' the slim girl whispered into the dark hallway, edging away from the car seat she had left in the middle of the floor. The third party within the hallway looked at her like she had left a pile of puke on the floor in a science competition in primary school. The slim girl edged away a bit further, before pivoting on her heels to make towards the exit. She hoped she could leave before she was made to explain herself.

'What do you want us to do?' The man said, and the girl stopped. The man had authority over everyone in the room from his gaze; there was no extra sensory perception being used in this situation, but the girl knew better than to ignore him. The girl knew what would happen if she ignored his questions or demands. That was a lesson learnt the hard way. For the last year and a few months, she had escaped his normal demands but she knew that was for a reason. She was pregnant for much of it, and if the man was seen mistreating her it wouldn't reflect on him at all well. After the baby was born in a dingy room with no pain relief and no medical care; just the girl on her own, they were in heavenly sanction from all demands and expectations; she had just weaned the baby off breast milk in preparation for this. She knew it had to be done against her own will but she didn't expect it to hurt like this.

'Take her away, give her to someone who cares,' the girl said softly as the baby gurgled in the car seat. The man looked down at the baby with a face of stone as the girl wandered back over to the child, kneeling down on the floor to give the baby her pacifier again.

'You care,' the man said bluntly and the girl paused.

'I can't do it, she needs her father,' the girl said.

'Not happening,' The man said bluntly.

'He'll care for her,' the girl retorted – the man snorted in reply.

'He'll brainwash her, we can't allow that,' The man replied and the girl remained silent.

'You have to give her to someone who will love her, I left directions in the notepad,' The girl argued back and the man raised his thick eyebrow at her, looking at her in slight disgust as she spoke back to him but the man was silent for a moment debating everything. The silence stretched on for a while, and the girl knelt next to the car seat where her daughter remained awake but not actively doing anything. The girl made sure she had her teddy with her. The man picked up the notepad she had thrown on the floor before she put down the car seat, and nodded.

'Okay, we'll give her to someone who'll care, we'll give her to this girl.' the Man said, walking forward adjusting his three piece suit to pick up the car seat.

'You're taking her now?' The girl asked, shocked.

'Yes,' The man said.

'Let me say goodbye to her,' The girl stood there, isolated and in near tears.

'You gave your daughter up,' the Man said, turning around to her but his soft side gave into the young woman, who stood there with a single tear running down her tear. 'You have five minutes,' He gestured to a door off the dark hallway and gave the girl back the car seat with her daughter inside.

'Thank you, thank you,' the girl said ruefully as the man walked off, holding up his hand. Five minutes to say goodbye to her own daughter. She walked into the small room closing the door behind her, putting the carrier down on the floor as she knelt down. The room was unspectacular as the girl had hoped; grey walls and grey floors, one porthole window leaving the room with a faint glow, and dust bunnies on the floor from lack of human interaction with the room. The girl herself, despite living within this establishment, had never been in this room for the twenty years of her life. It gave her home, though, to get some things off her chest before her daughter was taken away for good.

'Hey, little one, I know you won't ever remember this, but Mummy loves you. She doesn't want to give you up, she really doesn't, but it's the best for you,' The girl said, her voice breaking as tears started to form. 'You can't stay here, beautiful, you need to stay safe,' The girl said as the baby started to kick in her small onesie, her arm holding the teddy more by coincidence than intention. 'You wouldn't be safe with Daddy either, not that he knows about you. If he's going to give you to the person I hope, she'll look after you. Yeah, she'll be fine with you, and when she is wiser, she'll find you your Daddy,' The girl confirmed to her child. She turned around paranoid, looking at the door before she pulled three envelopes out of her waistband, tucking them under the babies back as the baby gurgled at the contact. 'I never expected this, my little girl, but it's for you. I love you,' Whispered words that echoed in the room, she picking up her baby, making sure the three letters were hidden. One addressed to her new carer, who she hoped was her childhood best friend, one addressed to her father, and one addressed to her baby. 'I love you so much,' The girl hugged her tight as the Man walked back into the room.

'Give her over, we've arranged her lift already,' The Man knelt beside her, forcefully taking the baby out of the young girls arms as she wept, hugging herself and curling into a ball as the Man put the infant back into the car seat, doing the buckles up and taking the baby out of the room as her mother cried on the floor, knowing she'd never see her own baby again.


	2. Chapter 1 - Sam

**Chapter 1**

 **Four years later**

The sun was just rising above the estates woodlands, and the young child stood at the peak of the hill, mesmerised by the colours. She was murmuring words to herself, the same ones as the normally does which made no sense, but I didn't mind. I would do anything for my Nic, including waking up at half four every morning, getting dressed for whatever the weather and driving half a mile to this point of the estate to watch the sun rise. It helped Nic's behaviour throughout the day and helped the preschool staff too, so I could barely refuse her the opportunity. She was only four; my little Nic, but she meant everything for me. I took her up here when she was a baby and refused to sleep, no matter what time of day it was, and just let her stare at the stars, or the clouds, and she settled down well enough. Firstly, I only took her here because it was far enough away from the estates main grounds that no one would be nosy and watch us from the windows, but its close enough to the teaching staff living quarters that, if we need shelter, we can run back into there. Now, it had become a resting place for both myself and Nic, who I was a full guardian for. Whatever her Savant gift was, it was clear as crystal that it involved the weather as she was mesmerised by every sunrise, every cloud and every drop of rain – and let's not even get her started with snow.

Like me, Nic will grow up under the care of the Blakeley Savant Academy, or as it's widely known the Blakely Academy for Gifted students. Whilst it was regarded "open for the public", no members came here if they weren't Savant's. Mainly because the tuition fees for Non-Savant's were in the thousands per six weeks, for not a good education. Well, that's what the brochures say. For Savant's, or anyone who can prove their genetic tree involves Savant's the fees are waived and for a small donation each month you get a brilliant education, with ages ranging from two straight through to eighteen. Well, it was extended now. I was the first pupil to complete a degree with Blakeley, and then go on and complete my PHD in childhood nursing and psychology. So now, they could go up to age twenty five. Thankfully for me, they offered me a job at Blakeley that I couldn't turn down – for Nic's sake more than myself.

The whole situation surrounding the two of us was weird; I was found on school grounds when I was four, with no note, no birth certificate, no hope and no identity. The staff took me on as a pupil without worrying if I was a Savant or not. They gave me a name, a place to live and an education. The staffing couple that took care of me, Aisha and Mark, treated me like their daughter but always argued over my name – Aisha wanted to call me Samantha after her Nan, and Mark wanted to call me Rose, the flowerbed of the agriculture students I was found near. So they compromised; calling me Samantha Rose – with Rose being my surname. So I grew up at Blakeley like any other of the three thousand multinational students. I had no family to go to when I finished my A-levels, though, so I talked to Head Mistress about continuing at Blakeley for a degree, and they found a course, got verified to hand out the degree in child nursing and psychology – a joint Bachelor's with honours – and I did all the work myself, working part time in the small hospital they had on base and in the paediatric ward once a week in Norfolk. When in my last year of my degree, I was called to the front entrance – normally a place that you enter but never leave from. It was always bad when you were called there.

As I got there, a woman was leaving – walking down the concrete stairs onto the gravel turning circle and climbed into a Jeep. I went to chase after her, wondering what she had done, but stopped immediately on the spot when I looked down. A car seat, with a baby inside. Immediately, I rushed over and found the baby girl was in no harm but was sleeping contently. There was a note though, explaining the girl was Nicole, and I was chosen to look after her. They had seen what Blakeley had done for me, and the baby's mother, and they wanted the same for the child. Head Mistress gave the baby special permission to stay with me in my small room, and gave me a special form of maternity leave to care for her. I was crap at first, but within a month or two with the help of my former parents, Aisha and Mark, I got hold of it.

Nic was in so many ways my own child, or like a sister to me. She was my first priority now, and I even cried for two hours straight when she went to the preschool on base for the first time three weeks ago – despite the fact my classroom was two floors above hers and I could be there within thirty seconds if they needed me.

'Sammmmmm,' the toddler said, not taking her eyes off the sun rise. I raised my eyebrow, looking up from the stack of essay papers I was marking. 'Sam!'

'Yes, Nic,' I sighed, shaking my head at my sister but grinning the entire time. Whatever she was doing, it helped her volatile behaviour so I didn't mind.

'Why have we got boys names?' She asked.

'We haven't got boys names – we have unisex names that are shortened versions of our real names,' I explained to her and she didn't reply. I hated the name Samantha, and not only that it was so long to spell out, so I took to the name of Sam. It suited my tom boy appearances and personality. Aisha was the one who came up with calling Nic, well, Nic. Nicole reminded her of her previous life where she had been dumped, like me, so Nic would be the bouncy baby who was Blakeley's first resident baby.

'The boys in my class say I have a boy's name,' Nic said.

'Then they're willies.' I said as Nic laughed at the word. 'Which boys are these?'

'Harrison and Payta,' She said, rocking herself as she continued to look up at the sun.

'I'll talk to your teacher,' I concluded, looking back at the piece of paper that was in front of me. The term so far had been stressful – especially when you have no teaching experience. Thankfully, my classes were small, ranging from my class of four seventeen to eighteen year olds, eighteen in the sixteen to seventeen class and twenty in my GCSE health and social class – but I had one topic to teach before I would pass the class on to the next teacher. I was content, and loved my students. There were only a few years between us, and many of us had been in social groups together or in the same dormitory blocks – we were more friends than students and teacher.

'It's going to be really sunny today,' I said to Nic and she nodded.

'Yes,' Nic said conclusively.

I continued reading the sheets of paper in front of me, marking in according to the criteria, but keeping an eye on the toddler in front of me. It was strange how much this little girl became a major part of my life – she was nothing to me. She was just left for me, but it could be anyone. Either way, I took her into my life and treated her like she was my own daughter and raised her. I fed her at all stupid hours, changed her, took her for walks and watched films with her; read her the same books seventeen times a day. In a weird way she was my daughter in the way that I treat her.

'Sam, look,' Nic whispered and I looked up at the sky, and my mouth dropped. The clear sky now had three clouds in them, and they were all spinning in a circle, leaving a small hole in the middle, straight above where Nic was standing.

'Nic, come here sweetie,' I said, trying to usher her away from the weird circle clouds. She came over to me, hugging me but the clouds followed her. 'Wait – are you controlling them,'

'The clouds are my friends,' Nic whispered to me.

'Of course they are,' I said, looking at the circling clouds. 'Should we go get you ready for nursery, then?' I asked her, putting my paperwork in my side satchel, before picking Nic up on my hip.

'Yeah!' The kid said, even though she didn't have an input, she knew the rules. We can do this every morning but when it was time to get ready we left without any hassle or protest. Nic turned back to me and the clouds that were circling above us dispersed into the sky, leaving no sign of where they were.

I knelt on the floor in front of Nic, tucking in her white school polo shirt into the trousers she opted to wear instead of the skirt, before passing her the Blakeley blazer that I got her a few weeks ago for her first school day – the blazer wasn't even compulsory until she was six.

'Sam, I don't like school,' Nic whispered to me, holding the hand of her toy rabbit.

'Why's that?' I asked her, sitting crossed legged on the floor to do the Velcro up on her trainers.

'People think I'm weird,' She said softly. 'Everyone has a Mummy and Daddy,' She said as rain started to hit the window.

'Hey, Nic, listen,' I said to her.

I never lied to her about her parents, and by never lied I mean I told her where she came from. I told her she was given to me by her parents to raise her at Blakeley. I told her a white lie, saying her parents knew me and trusted me and I was a full time nanny for her until she was eighteen where she can request parental knowledge. I explained this to her in children terms, and she appeared to understand – she was extremely intellectual for her age. But she didn't work out it was a lie.

Part of it was a lie – she was dropped off here by someone I assumed was her mother. But there was a letter in the car seat she was left in; addressed by name to me. Typed up but not on a computer, like it was on a type writer, the letter explained Nicole to me. She was never meant to happen, things got too far one night, and she decided to keep the baby without knowing what to happen to her. The mother knew the father, but the father had no idea the baby even existed and carried on his life like normal. The mother knew me from Blakeley; we went to school together for a few years before she left. She trusted me, and she trusted the academy to keep her daughter safe. The mother had three simple requests for me; to keep her daughter safe and out of harm's way, to be both parents that Nicole could never have and try everything I could to find Nicole's father and let him know that he was a father now.

The first two I took on with ease, the latter will forever be a struggle. There was simply a letter with "Nicole's father," written on the front, and I won't open that. In reality, I could be looking for a guy who had a one night stand, or even had sex with a female little under five years ago. When I phrase it like that, the reality seemed so little it was unperceivable.

'Nic, you listening love?' I asked the toddler and she nodded as she looked out the window. 'You don't need parents to be happy,' I gently told her, holding her wrists. 'I didn't have any parents either, I was exactly like you and look at me,'

'People laugh at me for talking to clouds,' Nic whispered.

'They're just jealous of your awesome gift,' I told her, winking and Nic nodded. I grabbed a tissue from my bag, using the corner of it to wipe away her tears. 'I'd love to be able to control the weather.'

'You can make people happy,'

Summing up, that was my gift. I was a human therapy dog. I projected out waves of calming or neutral emotion which made everyone relaxed or comfortable. Happy. I couldn't do it on myself and often found myself in a darker state to everyone around me happiness, which made me feel lacking even more. I didn't exactly have the best gift someone could ever ask for.

'Come on, let's get you to class,' I said, shrugging my backpack over my shoulder full of textbooks and workbooks, before handing Nic her Frozen backpack and she copied me. I offered her my hand and she took it as we walked out of my small studio room, locking the door behind us. It wasn't needed; Blakeley academy was 100% safe even from pity thefts and so on, but it just felt odd leaving the door open. But there was a darker stream running through Blakeley at the moment.

Students have been disappearing when returning to their home countries. I never heard of any of these disappearances when I was still a student, but when they signed me on a teacher and I went to all the board meetings they became an evident issue, and the details were unsettling.

As an academy, most students' board during the term and bugger off home during the term breaks; and as Blakeley was one of only three Savant academies over the globe, and with the highest recommendations and safety features, more foreign students boarded as well. At the end of term, we made sure all students who were going home would book their flights on the same day and we would take them via coach to their airports and see them go through security as we waited outside if there were any issues. Over the summer holidays all students apart from forty went back home and the remainder we kept for summer school, or rather them working in the local town and heading out with their friends from either their work or school themselves.

The only case I remember personally was one of Nakita; a lovely student who was quite shy and timid. She stayed on because her Dad was away on business. However, midsummer she suddenly booked a flight exclaiming her father was back and he would pick her up from the airport in Dubai and would send her back for the start of term. I helped her pack her bags, plan her outfit for travelling. I was known as the laid back teacher, the one that people would go to for help with contraceptives, or relationship advice, mainly because I was not much older than any of the other students themselves, and because I wasn't actually a teacher. I was more of all of their friends, so they trusted me. I took her to the airport in my own car. She never saw her Dad again, though. She signed in Heathrow, but never made it to Dubai. Somewhere between security and boarding gates, she had gone missing and never seen again.

I thought it was a tragic mistake, but only when reporting it to the Head Mistress; she pulled me in and filled me in with the details. Nakita wasn't the only one who disappeared when returning home to their parents. Over the last year, since the mass kidnapping of 24 savant girls, and the 18 confirmed murders and one assumed dead, five school-aged children from Blakeley have gone missing. We can't assume it was due to the same person but it seemed coincidental. They had all said they were going to go home for a period of time but went missing before their flight, never to be seen again. They had reported them to the police but only when Nakita went missing, the fifth one, they had to follow protocol and contact Maui.

Maui was well known within the Government, and within Savant circles. Maui was operating as a black operation within the British Government, under the same disclosure as both M.I.5 and M.I.6 but was for everything Savant related. About two hundred Savant's work there on all different operational basis and more often than not they would take some of our eighteen year old graduates on to train them up. I had admired everyone who had worked at Maui, located in Northern Guildford, and wished I could do the same but my gift was useless for all that detective hunting murderers stuff. When we contacted them, they said they'd look into it and get back in touch when they had sufficient evidence. Within the hour, they called back to Head Mistress, arranging a meeting to discuss it further and the plan of action for tomorrow morning before schooling hours. However, most of those coming up from Guildford for the meeting would arrive today, and take over the Southern barracks as some had children they were bringing with them. But knowing they were brining so many members over, and they were bringing family made by gut drop. What did they know that we don't that caused such a dramatic response?


	3. Chapter 2 - Michael

**Chapter 2 – Michael**

I pulled up outside my sister's house stupidly early in the morning, knowing that she would be awake. In all honesty, I wasn't concerned about waking her up; I was more concerned about waking her children up. I sat in my car for a second, as if giving her time to prepare her as I flicked through the paperwork that had been hauled onto me overnight. The academy for Savant youth's had called me yesterday to report a breach of the protocol set up when Blakeley Academy for Savant's was set up, and whilst I tried to sound _very_ professional on the phone and pretended to know exactly what the Head Mistress was on about, I was in reality sitting trying to find the protocol on the servers at Maui which making chocolate cornflake nests. Eventually, I found the protocol and worked out which was broken and pulled an all nighter trying to gather up the relevant information. Within the last year, five pupils from our sister academy had gone missing and had not appeared, which whilst is a cause for alarm we can't link it to anything. I had got all the paperwork – from school reports to medical histories, for the five individual as well as the CCTV footage from three different airports where the five went missing from and had scanned them all with little to no clue of any cause. I liked to pretend I was good at spotting any pattern but I was nothing compared to my younger sister. To say I was jealous was an understatement. She had just turned twenty five, was married to her Soulfinder and had two children whilst I was _making chocolate cornflakes nests_ in my work office. I pretended I didn't need her mind when it comes to things like this, but sometimes I did. Not that I would tell her, I would say I've come over to see my niece and nephew, or simply to see her then casually pounce it on her.

However, it wasn't just the case at Blakeley that caused me to be here. I opened the glove box and pulled out the letter that I had put in there, reading it again as I sighed. I didn't believe what the letter said, but at the same time I did. I knew it couldn't be faked, so it had to be true. It was just... unreal. I looked at the photos that were attached but saw the curtains move in Ella's house, shoved the letter back into my back pocket. I had to tell either Ella or my brother in law Joe because I was clueless, and I would come face to face with the issue when we went to Blakeley.

I got out the car, taking my backpack with me from the passenger seat as I closed the door, locking it with the key fob as I walked down the pathway to their house. I knocked at the door, causing their dog to bark. It wasn't long before the door opened.

'How many times do I have to tell you to use the key I gave you?' Ella, my little sister, said as she opened the door for me.

'Keys are boring,' I replied, dropping my bag down as my niece flew around the corner into the hallway and jumped up to hug me. 'Hey, Lils, been awful for your Mum?' I asked her as Ella gave me the evils.

'No,' She said sweetly and I rolled my eyes.

'That's no fun, Lily, you know what we discussed the other day,' I joked around with the kid as she laughed, kissing me on the cheek before I put her back down on the floor.

'I'm having serious words with you later about what you told Lily to do,' Ella said, walking back out into the kitchen in her pyjamas. I followed her footsteps exactly, fully aware of her Border Collie dog – a drug dog from Maui, called Peri Peri – followed behind me as well. Joe, her husband, was sitting at the kitchen table with their baby, Charlie, giving him a bottle of milk.

'You saw the emails?' I addressed to the pair.

'Of course,' Joe said politely and Ella glared at him.

'Why are you being nice? That was not what you said when you saw them this morning,' Ella laughed at him, leaning her head against his arm.

'I'm not repeating what I said earlier, there are kids around,' Joe told her, kissing the top of her head as she grinned, gently stroking Charlie's crop of blonde hair. Lily had appeared from under the table and immediately went to pounce onto Ella's lap. I looked between them two, before realising I had to tell Ella first. I had to tell her what I found out.

'Ella, can I speak with you outside?' I asked and Joe immediately frowned.

'What have you done?' He asked, as Ella frowned.

'I've done nothing,' I protested and it was clear they didn't believe me. I watched in silence as Lily got down from Ella's lap, standing next to Joe and her baby brother. Joe, realising this, silently offered Lily to hold Charlie, and she did so ever so gently, as Joe picked her up. Ella then got up and walked towards the back door, her dog running behind her as I got up, gently touching my jean pocket to feel the letter. I followed her outside as she closed the door.

'I'm in shit,' I simply said.

'You're always in shit – you're in shit for coming over to mine at half six in the morning,' Ella simply said and I sighed. I then pulled the letter I received hand delivered yesterday whilst I slept, at her.

'What's that?'

'Read it,' I said as she picked up the letter, taking a minute or so to read it.

'I don't... understand,' She whispered, flicking through the photos. 'I don't get it,'

I took back the letter as she frowned at me and I looked at the photos in my hand again. The letter, which had no DNA left on it, no fingerprints and no form of identification, changed my life. Imagine this; I was asleep, dreaming about potentially making chocolate cornflake nests in my office the next day, when I heard the letter box close. I have an external metal box screwed on next to my door outside for any mail, but because it was high-grade metal it would never clank in the wind, only when someone was putting mail in, or when I took it out with the key. However, it clanked at half three in the morning. I tried to sleep but after I couldn't, so I ran down the stairs pissed off and got the mail. A single line of writing was on the front; addressed to me. No stamp, no date, and on creamy stationary. I was immediately hesitant, checking the seal under a microscope which I kept in the spare bedroom in case this happen trying to find any fingerprints but nothing. Instead of waiting to get it x-rayed in the morning, I opened the letter. Inside, in neatly printed lettering by someone who spent time and dedication into each word they had written down. The letter simply read;

 _Michael,_

 _It has been a while since we have last spoken. I wonder if you still remember who I am. I would not be surprised if you did not, nor would I blame you. The last time we were together was when your sister was not well. I have been informed by my superiors that Ella is doing well, and for that I am thankful. That is not the reason I am contacting you, however. If you have received this letter, it bares the unfortunate news that I have passed on. Where I stay now, we are permitted one wish that will be completed in our memories. Mine is for you to receive this letter. It is an odd request, but it is one you must fulfil so I can rest happily._

 _That night we spent together, after your sister had returned home resulted in a child. I knew what you said about Ella and her pregnancy through a one night stand. You didn't approve. I did not want you to hate me. I hid my pregnancy from you. You no longer contacted me and I joined a dark place and had your daughter. She meant everything to me. She looked a lot like you – there were no paternal doubts. She behaves like you, too, according to the Gods who look over her. You have a daughter, and I am sorry I hid this from you._

 _However, I had to give her up. My superiors in my camp do not allow children as it evokes work ethic. I begged my superiors to send your daughter back to you, but alas they did not. They said you would brain wash our daughter, make her into a weapon. I do not believe this, Michael, I know you are good. I know you would never hurt a child. I know you would never hurt your daughter. They would not allow it. Instead, they asked me who I trusted to keep care of our daughter, who I named Nicole. I sent her to Blakeley Savant Academy. I know you go there a bit, and you are friends with the staff. I asked my superiors to give her to my old friend, who I grew up with whilst I gained my education there. I knew she would be a good surrogate mother for Nicole. She had a similar past to one that Nicole will grow up with if you don't want her. However, I was never allowed to tell you. Even this letter, my dying wish, is forbidden. I am passing it off a photograph of Nicole._

 _When you read this, understand it is too late for me. I have done my part for Nicole, and have failed her. This is why I contact you in need for our daughter. Your daughter. You need to find your daughter and give her the parents she deserves. Don't tell her about me. She doesn't need to know that. Find her a proper mother, one who will care for her and understand her beauty and her gifts. Take her home, spoil her like a princess. Give her a family. Extend your family to include her. Be a father like you always wanted too._

 _Nicole, as of when this letter is written, is four years old. I have only received photos of her, which are attached in this letter in hope you will find her. I will always love her._

 _Brooklyn._

Brooklyn was one of the girls I had seen through their probation period at Maui. She had been one of the older recruits; she was only two years younger than me compared to the eighteen year olds. We had grown close, and she was incredibly good to me when Ella and Joe were down in Cornwall after receiving death threats personally from terrorist. Not long after Ella had come back, Brooklyn and I had a celebration after she got the news she was to move back to Italy and it resulted in a one night stand. I had been so ashamed of myself and how low my behaviour was, but it never ruined the friendship between Brooklyn and myself. However, after she moved we barely kept it touch. That was just under five years ago. No one at Maui had known about the whole event, they thought Brooklyn got transferred and they never knew about what happened at our celebratory party. That's why I believe the letter. That and the six Polaroid photos that were enclosed.

They show a small child going through her first few years and the letter was correct. Nicole looked identical to me; she had the same bone structure, the same freckles, the brown hair and green eyes. The last photo, taken only two months previous, showed the four year old looking up at a blue sky as someone else, an adult, sat behind her hunched over. I could only assume that was the person who now cared for my supposed daughter. I knew we were due to go down to Blakeley later on today, but the amount of young children who live on the campus of the school was high and I was only there for a few meetings and maybe to speak to a class or two of the older kids. I doubt I would see anyone who would ring paternal alarm bells.

'You read the letter?' I asked Ella.

'You have a daughter?' She asked in shock.

'Apparently so,'

'You have a daughter you don't know about and now has no proper parents, and you're still here question whether it's legitimate or not, she's bloody identical to you, Michael, she is your daughter.' Ella argued with me. 'The real question is what are you going to do about it?'

I rolled one shoulder. 'What can I do?'

'Go there today, find your daughter, apologise so very much so to her career and thank her profusely for doing the job you've neglected since she was born, and bring your daughter back here and you'll make up for the four years you've not known her,'


	4. Chapter 3 - Michael

**Chapter 3 – Michael**

'I can't believe you,' Ella kept moaning and I leaned back in my chair, glaring at her as she continued to pace the room. We had moved back to Maui headquarters to discuss and get ready to drive up to Blakeley academy, which was a two and a bit hours drive away. Well, we weren't getting the car's ready. I was sitting in our joint office as Ella continued to have a go at me for being so irresponsible.

'Do you know how many years I had to listen to your bullshit for having a kid accidently? At least I stood up to the job.' Ella kept complaining.

'I would have if I knew.' I protested, flicking through the paperwork I was meant to take with me later on today.

'That's even worse! How can you not know?'

'She didn't talk to me much after that,'

'Brooklyn who worked here?' She questioned and I nodded. Ella remembered Brooklyn – they never really spoke but she remembered her none the less. I had always wondered what had happened to her and why she so suddenly disappeared off the radar and didn't even bother keeping in touch. Now, the reason she didn't contact me about the baby was a bigger concern. She was in trouble keeping her, why didn't she just ask me to pick her up? Why didn't she just leave the baby outside my house if she wanted to remain anonymous? There were so many "what ifs" about this whole mysterious daughter thing that just didn't make sense. Why she never told me I had a daughter for four years was the biggest question. I couldn't tell if I was annoyed at her for hiding it or suspicious because it never came up before this moment.

'How do you know which kid is yours?' Ella asked.

'I have pictures?'

'You have a picture of a back of a kid's head, good luck identifying her from that,' Ella mumbled, going through her section of paperwork.

'What has got into you?' I asked, wondering why my normal gentle sister, the one who always was kind and put others first had turned suddenly into an asshole.

'You left your daughter four over four years and think nothing of it. I would be totally devastated. And then you told Joe you don't know if you'll keep her,' Ella mumbled. I cursed myself for being so stupid to tell her husband that I don't know if I wanted to be a parent. Of course it would come back to my sister.

'How can I just take her in?'

'How can you live knowing you have a daughter you just gave up because she was never planned?' Ella retorted and I hesitated. I hated the fact my sister made so much sense in asshole mode.

'Michael, this is your _kid,_ ' Ella sighed. 'Your very own child and you're acting like you realised you won a free kebab. This is someone's life. She has grown up thinking she has no parents apart from the person who cares for her, all she probably want is a parent and you're debating about giving that up,'

'It could take weeks to get custody of her,'

'But it would be worth it when you get her home,' Ella said.

'But she already has a home,' I argued back. I couldn't just waltz into her life, claim to be her father and waltz away with her again. She has someone who already loves her to pieces who has raised her for the four years she's been alive. Nicole already has someone who cares for her, who is her mother in a way, and I can't do and ruin that. She would be devastated if I just took away Nicole.

'Then you have to decide what to do, but she is your baby girl. It's easy for you saying this when you haven't met her, but the second you see her you'll understand where I'm coming from,' Ella said as she shoved the folders back into a rucksack, throwing it over her shoulder.

'If you were in my position, what would you do?' I asked her as she stopped in the doorway.

'I would do anything to get her home,' Ella simply said as she left me alone in silence to mill about what to do.

'Jake!' I called, walking into the spare office that I knew he would be in, doing bugger all. He was due to leave with us, but of course having four children, all of which were under six, he was organised a lot more than we were. I think he was secretly excited to get away from the kids for the few days we would be there; the two eldest twins – Isla and Amelia – were now an unstoppable force who have discovered their Savant gifts and find it funny to make it rain inside or speed up the growth rate of plants. Jacob is in his terrible two's, and Nathan was teething. You can just imagine what it's like in their house. Jake simply raised his eyebrow as I walked in.

'I got parental issues,'

He closed the laptop lid down and frowned at me.

'What kind of parental issues?' He asked.

'Big ones,'

'That narrows it down greatly, thank you for that,' Jake said opening his laptop up again. I walked over, closing it and handing the letter over to him. He had the exact same reaction as Ella in the means of "Go and get your daughter back" look at me before he just put the letter down on the table, before looking back to his laptop.

'I guess Ella's reaction will be the same as mine – what did she say?'

'Told me to get my shit together and find her,'

'Yeah we have the exact same reaction.' Jake simply said shrugging. 'Why wouldn't you?'

'I can't just take her and run can I?' I said back and he shrugged.

'You have a point, you have to remember Nicole's guardian through this as well, she would have raised her for four years and would be attached to her immensely, so you can't just grab and run with her. But you can't just go "okay I have a daughter so I'm going to do fuck all," either. Do you understand what we're on about?'

'Yeah, but it's tricky,'

'We've never done it, we were responsible,' He referred to him and Ella and I rolled my eyes.

'I get it, I'm stupid,'

'You're only stupid if you don't do anything about it.' Jake protested. 'Also, neither Ella nor I called you stupid because you haven't done everything yet, it might take time but it's if you give up on Nicole – that's when you're stupid,' Jake argued.

'I agree with him,'

I turned around to see the voice, which was unmistakably my cousin but couldn't find him. I frowned at the back end of the table where the voice had come from, and suddenly Jason just appeared, sitting cross legged on the chair.

'Lucy?' I simply asked and he nodded. A few seconds my cousin's fiancee appeared in the chair next to him, and I noticed the baby car seat on the table appear too. Lucy hesitated slightly, feeling incredibly awkward before Jason put his hand on her leg.

'I should have said we were here,' Jason simply said.

'You're getting too powerful, you know that?' I said to Lucy and she shrugged, looking down to her lap.

'Leave her alone,' Jason told me, giving me a death look.

'That's a good thing,' I added and Lucy smiled shyly. 'I mean, nice hiding, did you know they were there?' I asked Jake and he nodded.

'But I'm agreeing with Jake and Ella,' Jason piped up.

'I didn't ask you,'

'You asked everyone in the room, you just didn't see us here. Would you just leave your daughter at Blakeley when you know people are going missing and that's the exact reason we are going up there today?'

'Blakeley is a good place,'

'It is, but people are going missing from there. Sure, it's all older children than four at the moment but it's still dangerous,' Jason protested as Lucy picked up their son, Tyler, from the car seat as he made some noises like he wanted to cry. I watched as Lucy held Tyler so gently.

'I'm glad everyone's agreeing with me,' Ella said from the doorway.

'I never disagreed with you,' I pointed to her.

'What are you going to do then?' She asked and I scanned the room of my family and friends.

'I'm gunna bring Nicole home,'


	5. Chapter 4 - Sam

**Chapter 4 – Sam**

Nic was correct – today was a lovely day. September had started to draw to a close but the summer temperature had yet to drop. Blakeley was an old fashioned building, built within the Victorian period and extended as the school needed – of course this meant the old Larson building, the former building, had no air conditioning units and relied on electrical fans to cool the classroom. Other buildings around the campus, depending on when they were added to Blakeley, have various degrees of cooling. Unfortunately the classroom I had been allocated was at the top of the Larson building. I was in a small black summer dress, with a thin flowery lace pattern down to the waist and flowing to my knee and a small pair of pumps. I was sitting at my desk, pretending to do something but was just colouring in an adult colouring book Marc gave me for my graduation.

My class of Year 12's – all ages sixteen or seventeen – were sat down doing their first time assignment. The timer on the board showed I still had over an hour to kill before they were due to finish.

'Sam?' I heard someone say and I looked up, scanning the room. Laura, a sixteen year old pupil who always sat at the back of the class by herself looked up at me. I frowned slightly. 'Why are people from Maui coming up here today?' She asked softly but it was enough for everyone in the class to put down their pens and look up at me.

'Standard beginning of year protocol,' I lied, colouring in. The silence settled awkwardly on the room for a moment before I risked a look. Everyone was frowning at me. They knew I was lying.

'You're lying,' Harry said from the row in front of Laura. Damn it, I cussed to myself under my breath. I knew Harry could read emotions and tell when someone was lying.

'It's about Nakita, isn't it?'

I looked around the room trying to find the source of the voice, and rested my eyes on Kathryn. A petite girl from Indian origins, she had been extremely close to Nakita and her family. She teared up mentioning her name, and I could only guess she knew the entire story like we do. She was abducted from the airport and there has been no trace of her since. Kathryn's eyes met mine. 'I'm right, aren't I? Don't worry, I won't break down,'

'It's about Nakita,' I nodded and Kathryn sighed.

'God damn it guys, you're meant to be doing a timed essay,' I mumbled. 'Fine, papers down you can do them all for homework if you want to chat now,' I said and heard some groans when I mentioned homework, but they all promptly stopped when I mentioned having a chat. They knew what that meant. I liked being open about everything, I hated keeping secrets and I trusted this class a lot more than I should.

'Yes, it is about Nakita but that incident is a fraction of a bigger case. Do you all remember the Savant kidnappings that happened last year in June? Twenty four girls went missing; the majority of the names was on the Grey Net. They were abducted by someone they still don't know, kept in Norway for thirteen days until they escaped. All apart from one made it out, and that one is still missing. It follows the trend of a mass murderer among Savants that spring, where eighteen young Savant's died fourteen days after they went missing with their bodies found painted grey and stabbed next to water banks,' I explained and the students looked solemnly at me, with one or two of them nodding. 'I know you remember it, we had classes on it and how to protect ourselves but it never came to that,'

I sighed, getting up and walking around the front of my desk before jumping up to sit on the table itself.

'Since then, five pupils from Blakeley have all gone missing. They booked a flight home, we took them through to security, but they never boarded their plane. Head Mistress contacted the assistant managers at Maui and they want to come down and talk to a few of the staff about it, including me,' I said and all the kids looked shocked.

'You should all be safe, though,' I added as an afterthought.

'What will Maui do?' Laura asked me, losing all colour.

'They've got all the paperwork they should need, they should be finding out what they can. Most of those who are coming down for the board meeting are coming down today, correct, but take my advice and not talk to them or make eye contact. They're not wild animals, yes, but we don't know what they'd be like, they are highly powerful –'

My pep talk was interrupted by the sound of powerful car engines, and the gates opening. The gates for Blakeley were hardly ever opened; we had separate gates for walking and then for staff cars, and the front gates were only ever opened at the beginning of term or when a new student started. For security reasons, they had attached a sensor and a beeping noise would start in all the classrooms, bar the preschool room. All the students ran to the window, and despite me telling them to sit down and calm down, I joined them.

We saw the wide double gates start opening but there was no cars there yet; the gates only start opening if they passed the security at the primary gates a mile down the road. Nic was right – today was a nice day. The sun had come out after she dispersed the clouds from this morning, and the temperature was already quite high for late September. I opened the window slightly, and heard the sound of the preschool class outside, playing within the enclosed play area. I looked over the side of the window and saw Nic sitting by herself on the table, with a colouring book and some crayons as all the other kids were running around with groups. My heart faltered – I should have known Nic would have had trouble socialising. She grew up in near isolation with no parents; she just had me she could have bonded too. She had no other child friends, no siblings, and everyone who came to visit her was adults who were seen as authorities by her. I had hoped sending her to the preschool would have helped her behaviour and isolation issues but it never worked. Over the last four weeks I had seriously debated about trying to find her Dad, hoping that he would have some positive interaction with her but it was hopeless. But when the gates opened; Nic looked up at them with slight bafflement on her face. She had never seen anyone come into the school, and she had never seen anyone leave the schools grounds for good. For the majority of her small life, or that she could remember, she had lived in the 22-acre ground that boarded the English coast, but confined within the fifteen feet concrete walls. When the gates opened, she was shocked.

Two or three seconds later, Jeeps started to hurdle down the main roadway leading to the entrance of Blakeley, one after each other. The front yard of the main building was long; over three acres to drive down, but it was enough to let all the Jeeps in. Seven cars followed each other, all black four by fours. I couldn't tell who was in what car, or if they all had people in, but they followed the leading car down the driveway at a relatively low speed until a marshal stopped them before the grand turning circle. From this room, you could see the entire event take out. The main front building of Blakeley was set like a U – with the turning circle being in the lower curve, and my classroom being on the left hand side overlooking the circle.

The marshal – a stocky guy who sits in reception on his ass doing nothing – came to the front Jeep and knocked on the driver's window. Through the passenger window I couldn't see who was driving any of the cars but could see the blur of people moving in the car behind the first one. The high vis idiot spoke to the guy for a second before indicating a large patch of gravel near the front entrance to park up. Sure enough, the marshal walked away and the cars pulled in one next to each other and stopped in a linear row.

The driver of the first guy got out the car and my jaw dropped slightly; he was a beautiful. The guy who came out was tanned, muscular and looked like a model. High cheekbones with blonde hair which had little to no work done to it but looked incredible and his eyes were covered by black Ray-Bans. He locked the car behind him and walked over to the other car next to him. Before I could register anything, I saw Nic run straight out to the cars.


	6. Chapter 5 - Sam

**Chapter 5 – Sam**

Without even saying anything, I turned out the classroom and ran for the northern stair well which headed for the fire exit near Nic's nursery classroom. As I ran down the corridor, I started to feel the anger building up in my chest. Why did Nic just run out to these strangers? Why did her teacher just let her? How can someone be so reckless with my little Nic? It was clear as anything that Nic has some issues when it comes to socialisation and making friends which probably originates from a childhood of only knowing me and no one else. She only had fake Grandparents and me, and that's only three people she could bond too compared to other kids who had a childhood of friends and child socialisation clubs. She didn't even have parents. She had me and I was a rudimental parent to her to start with. So why did her teacher just let her run off to strangers?

I burst through the fire door on the first floor, immediately scanning the sight to try and find Nic. To my left, the remaining Reception class was standing against the picket fence, watching the cars with interest. The nursery teachers, the key workers too, all were gathered around but were watching Nic from afar, not doing anything about her running off. I frowned at them before looking at the Jeeps.

All seven of them were parked diagonally in a row, all very neat and linear like the drivers had done this several thousand times before. The Maui workers had started to come out the cars, most of them standing around doing nothing and talking to each other, but I noticed three or four were all talking to the Marshal. The second Jeep in, I saw a small girl pull out a car seat with a young baby inside, taking to the extremely tall guy to her right, who was carrying a toddler, the girl looking at the fields behind her. Once the car seat was out of the car, the girl turned around and ducked down to look through the window of the first Jeep and I did the same.

My heart dropped as I saw Nic in her school uniform talking to one of the men. The man she was talking too had knelt down on the floor to listen to her. However, Nic seemed perfectly happy taking to him. I could see her gesturing to the sky and the man looked up to where she was pointing, nodding and smiling slightly. But I had to be honest; the guy she was talking too was incredibly beautiful. I could tell he was extremely tall, well over six foot, but he was extremely in-tuned with him limbs and didn't awkwardly look limp like some people do. He has brown hair that looked incredibly in a quiff and very define features. He was also muscular and you could see them through his tight black shirt. I started to jog over to them.

'I really like the clouds,' I heard Nic say to the man, as she pointed to the sky.

'I like clouds too,' The man said softly to my Nic as she walked forward, hugging the man slightly awkwardly. The man frowned and hesitated for a second, before picking her up and resting her on his hip in a swift movement. What does he think he's doing? He started scanning the buildings, trying to find where she came from. The nursery staff just looked in shock and didn't move to get her.

'I can make you clouds!' Nic protested.

'Nicole, what are you doing?' I asked her the second I was near enough to them. I watched as the man looked at the girl on his hip in slight shock and I frowned. What had got into him? Why did he react so shocked?

'I was just talking about the clouds,' Nic said slightly sad, leaning into the man.

'I've told you not to run off, haven't I? And run out of class?' I asked her and Nic sulked slightly.

'Sorry, Sam,' Nic said.

'Er, it was probably my fault too,' The man said and I frowned at him.

'Yeah, who are you?' I asked him and he raised his eyebrow at me slightly.

'Michael,' He replied back bluntly but nodded at the same time, like he had just realised something. 'Sorry,' He apologised immediately, handing Nic straight back over to me, and I took a deep breath trying to control my gift. He clearly wasn't someone who apologised frequently and the second I got my gift under control he started to frown at me slightly.

'Come on Nic,' I told the toddler and she frowned at me. I turned around and carried Nic on my hip. 'What have I told you about running off, hey?' I asked her as I walked around and Nic started grizzling, looking over my shoulder and I could feel her waving at Michael. I turned around slightly and saw Michael standing there slightly tentatively, waving at Nic. The small girl with the baby in the car seat came up behind him and said something to him, and he nodded looking at Nic.

'Nicole, listen to me,' I said, carrying her back through the fire door – no way was she going back to reception when they would just let her run out to stranger. 'Listen to me,' I repeated and Nic looked at me. I quickly stopped, putting the toddler on the floor. She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

'Oh, Nic,' I whispered, hugging her. 'I never meant to be angry at you, Nic, you know that,' Nic nodded. 'I was just terrified. Nic, some bad things are happening recently and I have to look after you, you terrified me when I saw you run to those people. You don't know them,' I whispered to her but she shook her head.

'But he's –'

'You don't know who he is, Nic, I don't know who he is,' I whispered to her and she looked at me with her big wet eyes. 'We'll talk about it when we get back tonight; you're staying in my classes today.' I whispered to her, picking her up again.

'Sorry, Sammy,' Nic whispered to me.

'It's okay, Nic, it's okay. I'm sorry I yelled,' I whispered to her, hugging her tight as I headed back up the stairs to my classroom.

'Damn, we were just about to discharge ourselves from class,' Harry said as I walked back in with Nic on my hip. Everyone immediately started to behave when they saw Nic, and I put her down on the floor but she awkwardly stood around my legs. Nic was well known with all the students because she was the first ever baby on campus – even though I was young when I was left with no memories of my former life I was still old enough to be placed in the Reception class. Nic, however, attended all the trips students do with me. The Christmas concerts, sports games, inter-house competitions and so on, Nic was always with me. Everyone doted on her, and whenever I was watching over teaching, Nic would come with me too. Everyone loved her.

'Er, why did you just speak to the assistant manager of Maui?' Payne asked me and I frowned.

'The what of who?' I asked, joining them the window. I could now see everyone had got out their cars and the group of thirteen people and a few kids were being lead through the front door. My eyes zoomed in on the man who Nic got on with, and he was speaking to the small blonde girl with the car seat. In a quick movement he bent down and picked up another toddler, who must have been the same age as Nic or a bit older and put her on his shoulders, only pausing to kiss her cheek on the way up.

'Him, the hench one, he's the assistant manager of Maui,' Payne told me. 'The girl beside him, his sister, is the second one and I think the guy behind them with the dog is the third assistant manager, my cousin's son is one of the interns there,'

I sighed slightly – that guy was the assistant manager? Maui was weird – the big manager, the main boss, was in her late fifties but now oversaw all the work. However, last year or a bit longer the assistant manager stood down, and he was replaced by three younger, powerful and intelligent Savants. Ever since then, Maui has improved from what was already an incredible organisation into all new levels of super. The assistant managers were the subject of talk – they were rumoured to be unsocial and above everything. However, not the guy I just spoke too. He seemed too genuine to be an arse.

'Did you get his name?'

'Michael,' I said and Payne nodded.

'He's the badass assistant manager,' Payne confirmed but I frowned. Badass? He didn't seem dangerous or even badass. He seemed gentle and calm. To him, he just arrived at Blakeley and a young girl ran over to him and started talking about clouds. If he just ignored her or laughed awkwardly, but no. He had knelt down, was speaking to Nic, before picking her up as she hugged him. Did he expect to find her parents? Or was he just going to return her to her class? Whatever it was, it wasn't badass. It was incredibly gentle.

'He seemed nice,' I said back gently.

'I like him,' Nic piped up frowning at the board, her Frozen backpack looking like the turtle shell on her back.

I sighed. Nic, who didn't get on with anyone, absolutely loved Michael so much so she ran over and wanted to show him her gift. She's never done that before. Not even to her Grandparents did she show her gift – what was so special with Michael?


	7. Chapter 6 - Sam

Chapter 6 – Sam

Soon after Maui's arrival to Blakeley, an email was sent around to the teaching staff telling us to teach like a normal day, and those who arrived are free to wander around and observe classes if they so wish. After settling down my year twelve class after my class, as well as settling Nic down at the back of the class with a sketchpad and some poster paints and pencils, I got back to teaching. It was coming down to the end of the day, the last lesson of the day wasn't my normal subject of psychology or the medical side of social care but rather personal development with my year ten class and it was on a sensitive subject of body shaming. We had moved the tables around to sit a bit closer, with my back facing towards the door.

'Sam,' Mardi said from across the room and I looked at her, 'are we opening up completely today?' she asked and I nodded.

'Only if you want too, I don't want to make you feel awkward,' I said and she nodded.

'Can we start with you?'

'Of course.' I said, jumping on the table. 'It's about to get extremely deep very quick, okay?'

Everyone in the class nodded and I hesitated for a moment before I started to speak.

'I grew up hating my body, and I know it's stupid but I still do and it lead to mental illnesses when I was the same age as you. You all know I was dumped at Blakeley when I was a few years old with no contacts for my parents, no form of identity, no family. Aisha and Marc adopted me so to speak and I grew up with them but I was lacking. Like Nic, I had no one. I was so left out. I was chubby five year old – fat, even. People used to call me names when I was five and this continued until I was about eleven. I knew I was different, and it wasn't in a good way. Fourteen years ago, Blakeley never allowed people to board over the holidays like it does now. I was the only one to stay on campus on Christmas and people tore me apart. And I remember the comments about weight and how my body looked like got to me and over the Christmas period I starved myself, calories then became numbers that ruled my life. I wouldn't go over 450 calories a day, but would go for a run for over three hours a day. I wouldn't stop until I went around the perimeter of Blakeley twice. And on the month holidays I starved myself so much I lost three stone. In the last week, I still wasn't happy with how I look so I went into town, and brought some laxatives and I took twice what you are meant too to try and effectively shit my weight out. When that didn't work, I then started forcing myself to throw up after dinner every school day, and I didn't eat during lunch or breaks. This continued for about six months, when I was so ill and weak that I couldn't get out of bed. I was hospitalised for a few months because I was so ill from the laxatives, burnt my throat from throwing up so often but I still hated what people said about me. They always commented on how big I was, how I looked, how uneven my skin was and spots. It's all trivial things of being a teenager, but you don't get told about it in school. Well, you get told you might get a few spots but you never get taught how to deal with them. ' I started to explain to them as I held my hands on my lap, my eyes going along my pale legs and the dress.

'I joined dance, but got told I was useless by the exterior teacher because I never got taught how to stand properly. I always stand on my tip toes anyway, and in fourth position if you do ballet. No matter what I did, people always took the piss out of how I looked. No matter what I did with myself I was never liked how I looked. I was always too fat, too ugly, too spotty and I don't think the fear ever stopped. Most days I don't look in a mirror to see how I look because I don't care. I don't think my issue is now how my body looks but rather how my brain perceives my own body. Like I'm okay now. But I'm still not happy, but I've learnt to love my body for how it is. But there are still days I'm so insecure but it's kind of, a, yeah.' I shrugged. 'But I think it's important to love yourself for who you are because people you idolise most of the time are either incredibly fit and good looking because photo shop, make up, lighting, editing, and it is their job. They have so much time to work out that it's just not accessible for 99.8% of the population. Like the people at Maui, how often do we think they work out?' I ranted.

'You're kind of forced to do an hour to two hours five days a week,' I heard someone say behind me and I realised it was Michael.

'Did you give the weird man his phone back?' I asked Nic as she came back into the room, grinning like she had won the lottery. Well, like she won the four-year-old version of the lottery, which was probably a life time supply of sweets from the school's tuc-shop. I had calmed myself down when Nic was out of the room, having a small cry before I pulled myself together when I realised how stupid I was being. Just because a random man from Maui showed up and he got on well with my toddler, it doesn't mean anything. It meant next to nothing – it probably meant that Michael was just as messed up as Nic was. Nic had found Michael's phone on one of the table and went out to give it to him but I could hear them talking quietly. Michael was probably asking her why I was such a mess.

'Yes,' Nic said.

'Why are you so happy?' I asked her.

'The man liked my clouds,' She whispered and I couldn't help smile back – that was the one thing that made me think Michael was normal and wasn't the badass asshole that people assumed he was. He straight away went to complimenting the clouds which to anyone who doesn't know Nic's gift would be a bit weird. But he did it anyway and made her day.

'Do we like Michael?' I asked her, almost like I was asking her for reasons why I don't like him. Was that pathetic and stupid?

'Yah,' she said nodding.

I realised how bitter I was being – he had just got on well with my foster daughter and I was hating him for it. But didn't he do what I hoped someone would always be able to do? He managed to make Nic happy and more confident with her gift. She actually willingly went out to give him his phone back – she went out of her was to socialise with someone. The same girl who, before his arrival, sat alone in the nursery because she was too scared to socialise. Michael, whoever he was, acted like a beacon for Nic and she had already made massive milestones in the three hours they had arrived for. I don't know why he did – it must have something to do with his gift, I mean, he wasn't the assistant manager of Maui for no reason – but I owed him a thank you for helping my Nic out. I sighed ,realising I would need to apologise to him for my irrational behaviour. Tonight, after dormitory curfew for those who stay on campus for study periods, the teachers who were involved in the meetings tomorrow and those from Maui were all due to have a barbeque on the Blakeley beach just south of the main campus. Blakeley was on the edge of protective forestry and beaches which meant at least we could all use our gifts without making too much of a fuss and panic about someone watching. I suppose then, when I was around fellow colleagues and friends and Michael was around people he knew I could slip in my apology and my thank you without it being too much of a big thing and without going out of my way. There was a gentle knock at the door and I jumped, expecting it to be Michael, who had left his god damn phone in my room after interrupting my class, but instead saw a small blonde girl.

I recognised her immediately as the girl from the second Jeep who had a car seat with her, and then the one who was speaking to Michael as they walked up the turning circle into the main entrance. She stood on the threshold of the door.

'Hey,' She said softly, her articulated accent hushing the room.

'Hey?' I replied back.

'I just came to say hello, really,' She said.

'I play with clouds!' Nic shouted at her and she grinned.

'Really? I play with ice, but my brother plays with fire.' The girl immediately retorted back softly, and my mouth dropped, realising exactly what she said. She played with ice but her brother plays with fire? Even though she was using friendly terms, I realised what she was on about; her gift was something to do with ice and her brother's gift was something to do with fire. Two very rare gifts, and there was only one family that had both gifts in their set and that was the world known Benedict clan. They were the ones who set up the Savant Net that we all belong too and they were all incredibly powerful. Their family holds seven boys and one girl, who had just been revealed as adopted after a terrible car crash killed off her family. But the girl grew up a Benedict as was known for being totally kickass when it came to it but had settled down and was now married with two children. That was the only thing that flagged up; the girl in front of me barely looked sixteen, and not old enough to have two kids. I looked at her wedding finger and saw the two rings there. She had to be Ella Benedict then and I hesitated. I didn't feel easy being around people who were powerful Savant's, even though it's rare people are aggressive to me because of my gift. I am walking therapy, effectively. When I focus my gift, people are calm and relaxed. I can then manipulate emotions when I focus a bit more but in all honestly, I barely ever used my gift. It's always on – like a car fan. It's on low and effective, but I only turn up to full volume when someone is in need.

'Can I show you?' Nic asked and Ella looked towards me.

'If you're allowed too,'

'Nic, you know you can't during the school day,' I sighed to her and Nic sulked, before giving Ella the puppy dog eyes.

'I can't go changing the rules,' Ella told her gently.

'Can you come and see me play tomorrow morning when the sun rises and... and you can show me your ice,' Nic pleaded her.

'Okay,' Ella replied back, 'You probably should get back to your work,' she said softly, tweaking her pony tail as Nic grinned to her, before continuing to paint. How has Nic's behaviour changed so much in so little time? And why to these people?

'How did you –' I went to ask.

'I have a daughter a bit older than her; I learnt the tricks the hard way,' Ella said to me.

'How old is your child?' I asked her.

'Lily is five, and I have another son, Charlie, who's four months,' Ella explained and I frowned at her. She shouldn't be here working that soon after having her child – she should still be on maternity leave. 'Oh, I am still on maternity leave and I'm out for another six months or so, my husband was coming up here anyway and I thought I might be able to help so we brought the kids with us. We don't know how long we'll be here yet, and Joe's never been able to spend a night away from the kids. And he is not leaving me with Charlie alone,'

'It was horrible raising her alone,' I mumbled, looking towards Nic where she was painting, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth.

'She's not yours then?' Ella asked and I shook my head.

'She's a Blakeley orphan, like me.' I simply said and she raised her eyebrow. 'I was dropped off here when I was four with no identity. Samantha Rose isn't my birth name but what my guardians gave to me when they found me. I grew up with them, and when I studying my Masters' degree, someone dropped off Nic addressed to me with three letters. One to me, one to her and one to her Dad. I can only assume it was her Mum who dropped her off but I have no idea who she was. I raised her single handily having no idea what to do with a two month old baby but she has issues,'

'What kind of issues?' Ella asked softly. 'We're both psychologists, it's fine,' She told me and I hesitating, wondering how she knew that. 'It was on your summary which is why you're in the meeting,'

'Oh.' I said, realising that's why they wanted me in the meeting; I was only one of two psychology teachers. 'She basically has issues with socialising; she finds it hard to make friends because she knows she's different and doesn't have any parents. She can't concentrate either,' I explained and she nodded. It was a common thing for children who don't have that parent bond. 'I have considered attempting to find her father,'

'You think he'd help?' Ella asked.

'I hope so, but I'd be afraid I would lose her. You know what I mean by saying I can't lose her. I can't live without her,' I whispered and Ella nodded.

'Completely. Would you ever consider joint custody? So if you find him, he'd look after her during the week whilst you work than you would have her for weekends?'

'I never considered anything like that because the chances of finding the bloke is so little to start with. It would need a miracle to find him, but I think even just knowing who he was would answer a few of my prayers,' I muttered.

'Why's that?' Ella asked back, looking over at Nic.

'When I got her, there was a letter for me. It explained that if I ever wanted to find her father I would have to follow the stars as well as follow my heart, because her father would be my Soulfinder,'


	8. Chapter 7 - Michael

Chapter 7 – Michael

'You're kind of forced to do an hour to two hours five days a week,' I commented, leaning on the doorframe of Sam's classroom. She had yet to see me, her back was pointing in my direction and her head hung low as she spoke about her past and her body insecurities. I felt terrible eavesdropping, but I was told to send the children from this class down to the main hall, and I needed to speak to her about Nicole. Or Nic, as I heard Sam called her. I loved those names. Sam and Nic. As Sam heard me speak, I noticed how tense she became as everyone in her class looked over to me. 'It's intense until you get used to it,' I added.

Sam turned around to see me and I saw the panic and upset in her eyes – the beautiful blue colour of her eyes highlighted as she bit back the tears. Her long brown hair was tied up in an elegant bun which emphasised her cheekbones. I saw Nic, who I had suspicions was my daughter, in the corner of the room painting, so interested in the paints she hadn't noticed someone had entered the room.

'Er, I got sent by your headmistress to send you lot down to the main hall,' I said simply, keeping my eye on Nic across the room. I could see Brooklyn in her, and Ella had told me she could see me in her too but I wasn't to certain. There were three Nicole's for all the reception and nursery groups at Blakeley, and another two that are just in daycare. Apparently, Nicole is a popular name. Ella had told me to lie as get sent to Sam's classroom saying I wanted to talk her and catch up, but go and ask about Nic. We didn't know how long we would be here for and I needed to find my daughter in that time. Slowly, all the students – there must have been fifteen of them – packed up their items as Sam looked down at the floor with embarrassment. Slowly, they filed out the room, some gently touching Sam's arm and thanking her. When the last student filed out, Sam got up to follow and I put my arm across the door.

'Not you,' I whispered and she turned back around again, starting to move the tables. 'Sam,'

'You shouldn't have been listening,' She whispered, wiping away a tear. I'm a terrible person.

'I know, I'm sorry,' I said, closing the door.

'What do you want?' She sighed. And I came up to her.

'I'm sorry about your past, you didn't deserve any of that,' I whispered and she turned to me.

'No one does,' She said defensively as she started to cry. She looked away embarrassed.

'No one does.' I agreed with her as she wiped away a tear. 'Come here,' I said gently, unable just to stand there as she started crying. She shook her head, walking away from me. Nic finally realised something was happening in the room, looked up and over to me grinning but realised her mother was crying and got up, ran over and hugged her legs.

'Sammy, don't cry,' Nic said softly as Sam bent down to hug her properly. Sam picked up Nic, resting her on her hip like I did earlier when the kid came out of nowhere, pulled on my jeans and started talking to me about clouds and which cloud were her favourite clouds. She then told me she could move the clouds and wanted to show me but Sam had found her by then. I didn't entirely understand what she meant but knew better than to question her. Having a niece a year older than her had at least given me an insight into what children were like; and I would never question Lily about some of the things she says.

I walked over the pair, trying to ignore the fact that Nic just called her guardian "Sammy," rather than another colloquial term for mother which immediately set alarm bells in my head, and stood awkwardly behind them as Sam continued to cry gently. Undecided still, I forced myself to put my hand on Sam's back and I could feel she tensed up slightly.

'Sam,' I said softly moving my hand around her waist to hug her slightly awkwardly with one arm. Nic immediately looked towards me and grinned, melting my heart, as she put an arm around me to almost include me completely in this family hug. In a way, it made sense that she would be my daughter. 'Please stop crying,' I whispered pathetically.

'You had no right to be in here,'

'I know I didn't,'

'That was all private stuff and you just came in and...'

'I'm sorry, Sam,'

'Sorry doesn't cut it! I don't know who you even are!' She said angrily. 'You just come here, get on with my Nic and then barge into my class claiming moral high ground? Who the hell are you?'

I hesitated. Telling Sam my suspicions would not help this situation in the slightest – and Nic was also present and watching me with a cheesy grin. I knew at some point I would have to tell Sam but it would kill her. I didn't know what to do – I hadn't considered that Nic would be this close to her guardian of all this time. I never assumed that her guardian would only be here because of her mysterious foster child who appeared out of nowhere. I couldn't take Nic away from Sam, but not could I take Sam away from Nic.

'I'm no one,' I whispered.

'Get out then,' Sam said, turning around to walk to the front of the class as I hesitated.

Well, this couldn't have got any worse if I tried.

Awkwardly, I walked back out of the classroom, closing the door behind me and hesitated. I had no idea where I was - I had been directed here by sheer luck and a few texts from Ella, who had projected to the classroom and managed to find her way. However I don't think little sister would be too happy if she had to guide me back to wherever she was so I can talk to her. I hated how much I relied on her for guidance when it came to family things. Before she moved to England I must have been so cynical and clueless.

I had just got down the hallway when I heard a voice behind me.

'Mikey!' I heard and turned around. Nic was running towards me and I immediately crouched down. The toddler came immediately up to me and hug me. I hesitated slightly before hugging her back.

'Hey Nic,' I said back to her.

'You... you are my Daddy?' She whispered, pulling away slightly and looking at the floor. I hesitated slightly, unsure what to do. Going against my own ethics, I used my gift on her. With my hand on her back, I dipped into her brain and tried to ignore all the incoherent thoughts and went straight to the room that stored genetic information. It's easy to make your gift like you imagine; if you think the brain is scatty you'll struggle but learn to organise it into separate rooms, you're good. I could see Nic's genetic make-up, flicking through the DNA to work out the chromosome pairs; something I had to teach myself how to do. I sighed, not being able to find much when I never studies Brooklyn's DNA. Just as I was about to give up, I found what I was looking for; segments of my DNA. Nic was my daughter.

'Yeah,' I whispered to her, and Nic's face lit up completely as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I picked her up, hugging her tight as I spun her around before sitting her on my hip, grinning at her. My daughter. She was my daughter. Nic grinned at me, showing where she had lost her first tooth. I noticed the freckles on Nic's cheeks and nose, and her green eyes shone back at me. I wondered why her eyes looked so familiar, and realised with a shock they were the exact same as what I see when I look in the mirror.

'Does Sammy know?' She whispered, holding a handful of my shirt like she never wanted to let me go.

'No, but you can't tell her, it's our secret okay sweetheart?' I asked her and she nodded before hesitating.

'Are you going to leave us?' Nic asked and my heart stopped. I had no idea what to do. Sam clearly hated me that much was clear. She hated me because I got on with Nic. I could tell though Nic was the only thing she really had; if she loses her she had nothing to herself. Her protectiveness made sense but it made it tricky. I realised how much I cared about Nic already – she was _my_ daughter - and I wanted to take her back to Windsor with me and settle her down and raise her. I didn't care if I was a single Dad, Nic had become the most important thing to me now. I wanted her to grow up with me, I wanted to do the school runs and play with her hair and stay up at night when she was ill. But I couldn't break Sam like that anymore. Especially after her speech to her students earlier. Taking Nic would push her to the edge and it would be the equivalent of destroying Sam.

'No, of course not,' I told Nic and she kissed my cheek and I smiled.

'Promise, be-because you can't break promises. Sammy says people cannot break promises.' Nic said.

'Promise,' I whispered to her, resting my forehead against the side of her head.

'Good,' Nic simply said and I put her back down on the floor but she didn't stop hugging me.

'You should probably make sure Sam is okay,' I told her, and she nodded. 'I'll see you soon,' I whispered to her and she nodded.

'I love you, Daddy,' Nic said as she ran back down the hallway, looking over her shoulder with a grin before heading back into the classroom.

I sat down on one knee for a moment, staring at the carpet in disbelief. That was my daughter. I hadn't realised how quickly someone you didn't even know about the other day become such a major part in your life. In that split second, I knew I would never give up on getting Nic back. I got up, and turned around but jumped out my skin when I saw Ella standing right behind me, eyebrow raised.

'How the fuck –'

'I was right, wasn't I?' Ella simply said and I nodded.

'Yeah,' I simply said. Ella had told me in the courtyard that she thought the girl who loved the clouds was my daughter and was the one who sent me to Sam's classroom to find her. 'Yeah, she's my daughter,'

'Apology now please,' She simply said.

'For what?'

'For all the one night stand comments you made about me and Joe, and any comments about Lily being a mistake. Now you know that having a child is never a mistake,'

'What does that even mean?' I asked her bitterly.

'Oh, Nic is a mistake to you? Don't you care about her?'

'Of course I care, she's not a mistake, she'd never be a mistake. That means you regret something,'

'There we go then,' Ella said and I rolled my eyes.

'Sorry,' I said through gritted teeth as she grinned at me. 'I hate you,' I muttered and she shook her head.

'Nah, you don't,' Ella simply said. 'Get your ass back to the annex, you're babysitting before the barbeque,' She told me, stretching her arms about her head slightly as I pulled a face. 'Get used it, it'll be a full time occupation for you soon,'


	9. Chapter 8 - Michael

**Chapter 8 – Michael**

'Why are you both grinning like idiots,' I said, walking into the main room of Ella's little place that Blakeley told her he could stay. Both her and Lucy who weren't meant to be here as they are both on maternity leave got told they would have to stay with their partners and their kids, but at least they were in a large enough space. I had walked into Ella's room to simply pick up the two kids to babysit but instead saw her and Joe on the sofa, with Charlie on Ella's lap looking around the place.

'We're not,' Joe said and Ella elbowed him slightly. I frowned at the both of them, who looked at each other and had a silent conversation with each other through just looks before Ella gave up whatever her point was and slunked against him slightly. His arm went immediately around Ella's shoulders, and his hand around Charlie slightly as the baby gurgled.

'What is it?' I asked.

'Nothing,' Ella mumbled like she sulking. 'Well,'

'No, Ella, not our place,' Joe told her and she sulked even more.

'But why,'

'Ella, we've talked about this.' Joe said and she leaned against him.

'Fine,' She whispered and Joe kissed her forehead, before gently picking up Charlie from her lap and resting him against his chest as they leaned back. From where I sat, I could see Lily in the corner of the room colouring but was looking up at the conversation at hand. She quickly put down the pencil and came over to me, hugging my leg. I bent down to pick her up like I normally do.

'They were talking about you!' Lily told me.

'I like you,' I told her, poking her nose as she laughed at me. 'What were they saying?'

'Lils,' Joe said, shaking his head slightly at her when she went to say something. I put Lily down on the floor and she ran over to Ella, climbing onto her lap for a hug. They were the perfect model family who all loved each other and I was insanely jealous of it. I was jealous that my little sister had found her Soulfinder, had a kid, married her Soulfinder and then had another kid before I even thought of finding mine. I was happy for her, of course I was, but that didn't stop the innate jealousy.

'Okay, babysitting yeah?' I sighed, knowing there was no way that I could get the desired answer out of them.

'Yeah, if you don't mind,' Joe said.

'I didn't really have a choice,' I told him as Ella picked up Lily to put her back down on the sofa, stretching as she got up.

'Thanks,' Joe said as it looked like Ella was about say something else. Joe got up, handing over a half asleep Charlie to me before double checking Ella was out the room for a moment.

'What were you two on about?' I asked him and he shrugged.

'Ella found something out and I didn't quite understand but if it's what I think it's about, we can't tell you. It's not our place,' Joe simply said. 'Ella shouldn't have found out anyway, she was stupid and reckless and it is not even her place to know either,'

'What the hell do you two know that is that bad?' I asked and he frowned.

'Don't try and pull it out of me either,' Joe said as Ella came back up to him, hugging his waist.

'It'll probably be easier if you just meet us at the barbeque later with the kids, just dress them into something nice,' Ella said and I frowned at her. 'It's not hard, Michael,' She whispered and Joe shrugged.

'If you want to look after Nic you have to prove to a court you can cope with the day to day reality of single fatherhood – if you can't get them changed you're falling at the first hurdle,' Joe explained and I hesitated as my sister and brother in law walked out of the room together.

'They're right,' Lily whispered.

'How do you know?' I asked the five year old who came up and pulled Charlie's sock, and I bent down and gave Lily her brother.

'Are you going to take Nic home?' Lily asked me, sitting on the floor with Charlie on her lap.

'Hopefully,'

'You can't even look after us without Mummy getting upset at you.' Lily joked and I frowned. Every time I looked after the kids for a substantial amount of time I messed up somehow, most recently it was not being able to settle down Charlie, having to call one of them back to settle him down before they went back to doing whatever it was they were doing. 'But you will have Sam,'

'Sam wouldn't come with us,'

'Yes she will,' Lily told me.

'She won't, Lily, she'll stay here,' Lily shook her head. 'How do you know then,'

'I can tell, Sam will come with you. She will love you,' Lily told me.

'Is this what your parents told you not to tell me?' I asked her softly and she immediately looked panicked.

'Please don't tell them,' Lily whispered. 'I didn't mean too,'

'Hey, Lils, it's okay. You're secret is safe with me,' I told her, winking but what she told me still sat in my mind. Ella had found something out when she went into Sam's classroom after me (to apologise for my "irrational" behaviour,) and she must have told Lily, and now Lily had told me accidently. And if Ella had gone to those lengths to hide it from me, but was happy with it, it meant it was true. Ella wouldn't go to lengths to hide something from me if it was all a lie. Even Lily can't lie for anything – nor can most kids really. So they all knew something about Sam that they couldn't tell me – I dunno if I was just being paranoid but it seemed like they found out that at some point myself and Sam would get together.

I don't know how to feel about this.

By seven that night, babysitting had completely worn me out. Lily was on her best behaviour and was more than happy to sit there colouring and painting. However, their four month old son Charlie decided to cry for three hours and no matter what I did, he wouldn't settle down. No matter how many times I changed him, fed him and tried to coax him to sleep he was not playing ball with me. Lucy, my cousin's Soulfinder ended up coming up to the room and settling him down within ten minutes as I wondered how I was so crap.

I had started contemplating what was right for Nic; I clearly wasn't a good parent and was absolutely clueless. However, Nic wasn't a baby and wasn't four months old – she was a bit younger than Lily. And if Lily's behaviour for me today was down to my incredible babysitting skills I would be fine. But, I didn't want to break Sam's heart. Whilst I had a reputation of being heartless, there was no way on Earth that I would ever hurt someone that much. My mind was torn. But then there was the element that I had to sweet talk Ella into telling me; she knew there was something about Sam and myself that she wasn't telling me. Soulfinder was out of the window because she was clearly years younger than me, but then why was Ella being such a pain in the ass? Don't get me wrong, my sister is always a pain but she would only ever do it with the best interest.

'Lily, you ready yet love?' I called her in a loud whisper, desperately not trying to wake Charlie up. I had changed him as he slept in very small and careful movements into an adorable dungaree set which seemed a bit more formal than all the other items they had packed for him – which was a lot. But only now did I understand why they needed so much for a few day trips for a baby. It was exhausting work and I had to take my hat off for my sister who has done this twice.

Lily had come out the room in a dress I had got for her – a knee length item with the bottom half a denim skirt and the top have a lacy camisole but with it all being in one piece. The sales assistant had tried to use big words on me but I just got bored and brought it because I knew Lily would love it. She had then put on some white canvas shoes but left the laces undone.

'You look adorable,' I told her, bending down immediately to tie her shoelaces for her.

'So do you,' She whispered to me. 'Mummy said you're going to get laid,'

'Lily you do not say that again, okay?' I told her, shocked the words came out her mouth. 'Just because you overhead Mummy saying it, it doesn't mean you can say it,' I told her and she nodded.

'Sorry Uncle Michael,'

'I'll have words with your Mum,'

'Please don't!' Lily whispered. 'She'll tell me off,'

'Not like that, Lils, I'm going to tell her not to say things like that when you're around,' I whispered, picking her up and putting her on my hip.

'I wasn't meant to be listening,' Lily whispered. 'They thought I was asleep,'

And suddenly it made a lot more sense; if they thought Lily was asleep and most likely Charlie was too, then of course they would go back to discussing things like this. I sighed, realising that was probably what Ella and Joe were on about earlier and were grinning like kids about. But I realise I was also disappointed – I had hoped Ella had found out something good about myself and Sam. There was no doubt that Sam was beautiful in a subtle way. She would never be a model, but she would definitely turn heads though. She always wore her hair in an elegant bun which in contrast showed her beautiful eyes, which were the colour of the English sea on a warm day, with patches of lighter blue and green. She was incredibly stunning, and I could only wish she saw something in me but I had thrown out the window as she yelled at me to get out. She's so dedicated to Nic, too, and she must have only been 20 or so. It was... it was just incredible.

'I won't get you in trouble, Lils,' I told her, poking her nose.

'Thank you, Uncle Michael,' She whispered as I picked up Charlie's car seat with him still in it, fast asleep – and will hopefully stay that way until I hand him back over to his parents. She rested her head against my shoulder as I locked the door and headed down, but she didn't say anything. She was only my niece, but I decided in that split second I would fight to have my own kid without hurting Sam. Lily had made my mind settle on that decision for me.

'How were they?' Ella asked me, coming out from her paddle in the sea with Lucy as they quietly spoke. Jason and Joe were sitting together at one of the benches, with Jason's son Tyler in his arms having a bottle. Lily, who I had put back down to run along the second we were outside and she ran straight over to Joe, hugging him as I gave the car seat back,. I blatantly lied to him straight up saying that Charlie was good as gold and you could tell both of them didn't believe me for a second. Jason just frowned at me, knowing full well that Lucy had to come up to the room to settle Charlie down. I had made an excuse to go and see Ella, but I couldn't be bothered to take my shoes off to find her so I just stood awkwardly waiting for her to turn around.

'They were golden, didn't need any help –'

'Apart from Lucy having to come up to the room to settle down Charlie because he was crying for two hours so loud it woke Tyler up?' Ella asked, tilting her head.

'Maybe that one time,' I muttered. 'However, I'm having words with you,'

'About?' Ella whispered.

'Your daughter,'

'What's wrong with her?' Ella immediately went to protect her and protest for her.

'She told me something she had overheard from you and Joe,'

'That's never a good sign,' Ella joked.

'You said something about me getting laid?' I said and Ella laughed so hard she bent double, and caused Lucy to look back from her deep thoughts in the ocean. 'Ella that's not funny,' I hissed at her, crossing my arms.

'That's brilliant, I love my daughter, she can lie well,' Ella laughed.

'She's five, she doesn't even know what it means – stop laughing, get a grip girl,' I told Ella as she wiped away some tears as she continued to grin.

'If she has no idea what it means, that's even better,' Ella laughed.

'I hate you,'

'Nah you don't,' She protested back.

'You said something to Joe about me getting laid – why?'

'Because it'll be a miracle,' Ella joked and I punched her in the arm. 'Nothing, we were just joking around,'

'She mentioned it when she mentioned Sam,' I said and Ella looked at me slightly, the grin fading. 'Yeah, now that has you thinking,'

'It was a joke, sunshine, the kids were asleep and Joe asked me what was up, so I told him and I joked around about you getting laid and it was literally a joke because let's not even lie, you're disguising and that shirt has a tiny bit of baby puke on it too, you're a mess .' Ella joked, getting a tissue from her pocket, wiping away a small amount of Charlie's spit up that he decided it was funny to do and threw it in the bin.

'Ella, come on, you know something about me and Sam,'

'I know that you're both parents to Nic, yeah, I'm not stupid. You're biological and she's on the adoption certificate as her mother, no matter what you two do whether it's continuously hate each other or get laid, I don't care, as long as both of you settle for what's best for the kid,' Ella lectured me. 'Spend tonight as a chance to get to know her without pissing her off, that'll be good, because I won't be saving your ass by sweet talking her out of her hatred for you again, and get to know your daughter too. Because even in the worst case scenario, you'll be dealing with Sam for easily the next fourteen years until Nic is eighteen and then probably further as well,'

I sighed when I realised she was right – of course she was right – and even if it killed me at first I had to be nice to Sam for the sake of our daughter. Can I refer to her as that? Our daughter? In the eyes of the law, Sam was the legal guardian of Nic and whilst I could claim to her father it would require DNA tests and so on. I couldn't tell Sam that either because she would think I would just be nice to her because of Nic, rather than be nice because I wanted to get on with her. That was the truth; I really wanted to get on with her.

'Here is your chance, don't blow it,' Ella simply told me, hitting my shoulder as she walked past and nodded towards the top of the hill which lead down to the beach. There was a rough road, which led to a car park, but the grassy hills lead to a gravel patch, before it dropped down a few wooden steps to the beach. At the top of the steps, I could see Sam walking down with a haggle of other teachers, with Nic following her awkwardly, looking down at the floor.

I couldn't mess this up, for the sake of them.


	10. Chapter 9 - Sam

**Chapter 9 – Sam**

'Okay, Nic, you ready?' I called into the studio flat where we both lived. The flat was more than enough space for the two of us at the same time as being too small. It had two separate bedrooms, one with a small double bed and the other with a small bed for a toddler. Of course, Nic would stay in the smaller, second bedroom which we both spent weeks decorating together but recently she had been having bad dreams and therefore sleeping in my bed. She kept telling me that a storm was coming, or a hurricane was coming. It was extremely confusing considering this is a girl who can make a storm or a hurricane just by being a bit sad. This is also the girl who went missing in the middle of a thunderstorm which settled over Blakeley, and whilst we were searching the ground for her, I found her in the middle of the woods controlling the storm and making it more aggressive just to pass time. I knew, whoever her parents were, they must have been extremely strong Savant's because her gifts were on a whole new level of which I'm not entirely sure I can control. That was when I seriously considered trying to find her father, or my Soulfinder if the letter was correct, in a benign hope it will calm Nic down and stop her doing stupid things to the weather like that. All I could say was thank God we lived in Britain. Whenever it rains one moment but is sunny the next – there's an 80% chance that my Nic was the one doing that. We both apologise profusely for any inconvenience it had on your day or clothes you had wore.

Nic came running out of her room in a summer dress – navy with a tan belt across the waist – and her favourite black boots and hugged my legs happily.

'What's got into you, pumpkin?' I asked her, grabbing the keys from the sideboard next to the door.

'Nothing,' She grinned and I shrugged, walking out the room with her following me.

'My favourite Nic!' I heard someone say down the hallway and the girl was off. Tobias was another teacher at Blakeley, four years older than myself and works within the Maths department. He was somewhat of a looker and I knew students talked about him a lot and speculated a lot of stuff between both of us, but it would never happen. Tobias was like my older brother. He too had grown up at Blakeley as a half-boarder, returning home only during summer and staying on with me at summer camps. He left when he was eighteen to go to university in Scotland where he got a scholarship, getting a first degree with honours in mathematics, before coming back to Blakeley. Tobias had been incredibly good to me, and has been good towards Nic too. So many people were cautious about her, but not Tobias. He took her in his stride.

'Tobias!' Nic said, running up to him to hug him. Tobias laughed, picking her up.

'Woah, you're hyper today aren't you?' Tobias asked her, poking her nose.

'I have no idea what's up with her, she hasn't stopped all day,' I mumbled as he spun her around the corridor before sitting her on his shoulders. He came up to me and put his arm around my shoulders, and Nic lifted up a strand of my hair I had left down for the special occasion and played with it.

'That'll be why you look tired then,' Tobias said, rubbing my arm. He was scared being a parent would tire me around and he was correct, it did in so many ways, but I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't have it any other way – apart from maybe having her Dad in my life too. For her sake, as well as my own selfish needs.

'You doing okay?' He asked me.

'Yeah,' I whispered back and he frowned at me and I shrugged. He tightened his grip around my shoulders in a "speak to me later," way and I nodded. The thing is, I didn't know why I felt so panicky and down all of a sudden. I was used to erratic changed in my mood; my gift worked like a catalytic converter. All the bad emotions go in to me, and I produce lovely clean emotions which makes the recipient all happy and bubbly whilst leaving me with all their emotions. So it was clear someone at Blakeley today had felt panicky about something, and I couldn't work out why or even who.

'I heard about your stunt earlier, Nic,' Tobias changed the subject thankfully. 'What have we both told you about running off like that,'

'Sorry, Uncle Tobias,' Nic whispered.

'You don't know who they are, or why they are here. We know they're safe, but you didn't.'

'I knew he was my Daddy,' Nic whispered, almost sulking at both of us, and both myself and Tobias stopped dead, Nic then frowned at us as to why we weren't moving anymore. Tobias had read the letter I had received when Nic was dropped off. He knew Sam's Dad was my Soulfinder. He knew how much this development was. He also knew that Michael, the person in question, was so out of my league it was incredible.

'What did you say?' I asked her.

'He's my Daddy, but he told me not to tell you.' Nic said before gasping. 'Will he hate me now?'

 _What does she mean, Sam?_ Tobias switched how he was talking to me into telepathy, and I shrugged. I had no idea. I was still reeling in shock from the announcement.

 _I have no idea._ I repeated.

 _There is no way in Hell that he can be your Soulfinder, right?_

 _No, he's... it can't be possible,_ I said and he frowned at me. He realised I had done the maths quickly and I realised he was the same age as me. I remembered reading the papers when he, his sister and another bloke were all promoted to assistant manager and I could remember seeing he was my age back then. However, I didn't know my birth date and they made it up to be in April, which I knew would make the whole Soulfinder thing incredibly tricky. Also, the mistake I made was trusting someone who gave up their child to me, and trusting her letter. Of all the people to trust your daughter with, I wouldn't be high on the list. In fact, I wouldn't be on the list. I'm so far off the list it's stupid. Also – how would she even know? I think I trusted this person, Nic's mother, a bit too much.

 _Are you sure?_

 _Yes, of course I'm sure, Tobias. You've seen the bloke, haven't you? It would never work._ I told him, walking off. He jogged to catch up with me.

'Nic, I don't think he is,' Tobias told her.

'No, he told me!' Nic protested. 'He told me, Tobias,' Nic whispered.

'When did he tell you?'

'When I gave him his phone, he – I asked him and he told me but told me to keep it a secret be – because he wanted to speak to you,' Nic protested.

'We believe you, Nic, don't worry,' Tobias said softly, putting her back down on the floor as she ran off in front of us. 'We don't believe her, do we?'

'I don't quite know what to believe anymore, Tobias,' I whispered. 'She's only four, she couldn't work that out herself and you can't say it's her gift because all she does is play with clouds, and there's no way he can be my Soulfinder either. But, in a way I wish he was because Nic seems so much happier and she hasn't had any behaviour issues either,'

'You wouldn't be able to give her up, Sam,' He whispered to me.

'I know, which is why I kind of hoped for the Soulfinder opportunity,' I mumbled and Tobias frowned at me. 'I hoped I wouldn't have to give up Nic and we could just live together happily ever after, I know it's stupid,' I whispered.

'A bit, Sam,' Tobias replied to me and we walked the rest of the stairs together in silence, Nic happily running ahead. Outside our flats on the Eastern side of Campus, we met a group of six or seven other teachers, all of which were in their twenties and had gifts that I could see would help them with the disappearance of the children so far. My gift wasn't even useful to this case.

'Stay by my side tonight, Nic,' I whispered to her as we stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the private beach that was for staff use only. It had picnic benches across the small stretch of sand, some BBQ buckets and all the equipment in three sheds next to the car park which never had any cars in. There were about twenty people milling around on the beach, all Maui officials, and how nervous I was hit me suddenly. What am I doing here? As I scanned the beach, I noticed several other children and it shocked me. Why would they bring their children here? From where I stood, I could see a tall but lean bloke holding a baby in his arms next to another tall but muscular guy, who too was holding a slightly older baby on his lap. Five or so other kids were all running together on the ocean edge – the oldest looked around six and the youngest was only a two year old.

'But there are other children,' Nic whispered. Nic hated playing with other children but she seemed so excited. I was torn as to what to do.

'Stay with me for a while, okay?' I told her and she physically sulked as I crouched down. 'Let's say half an hour, then you can play with the other children,'

'Okay,' She said and I stood up, looking immediately up and seeing Michael staring at me from across the beach, starting to edge towards me as Nic ran down the stairs.

'Nic!' I called as she ran straight down the stairs, heading towards Michael. What did I just say to her? Her Dad. My gut dropped – could he be my Soulfinder? I doubt it – he would be matched to a super model and they would have super model children. I ran after her, but saw my Nic run straight to Michael, who picked her up and spun her around before heading straight over to me, my Nic sitting on his hip. Angrily, I walked down the stairs so ready to shout at him.

What I didn't expect was my small kitten heels, only a mere half inch heel too, to get caught in one of the wooden grooves in the stairs, and for me to stack it arse over tit down the stairs, hitting my head on the concrete landing, causing me to black out.

I don't know where I was when I had started to wake up but the only thing that I could think was how cold I was. It was freezing. Without opening my eyes, I tuned into the conversation overhead.

'She'll be okay now?' Michael asked beside me, very close, and I felt a hand on my right arm.

'She may be slightly concussed, she hit her head with an incredible force, but we done what we can for her,' Someone said over my head.

'Between us, we fixed the fracture in her arm she landed on, the muscles she pulled, the grazes from the concrete and what we could of the bruises, and reduce the brain swelling from the concussion, and we are debating about binning those shoes. Clearly, the health and safety here isn't too good, or logic. Heels on a beach is a bad idea to start with,' Another man said with an American accent. What do they mean they fixed me? What happened? One second I was with Nic and Tobias and now... who knows where I am?

'Well, I did the more important parts,' The British man said.

'Er, no you didn't, you still have no idea what you are doing Jason,'

'I know exactly what I'm doing, I'm better than you,' The Jason joked around with the American man.

'And that's how you know he's related to us,' Michael joked around. 'Thanks, though,'

'I'm leaving after the meeting tomorrow, but I don't think she should be left alone or with Nic either. If her brain continues to swell she'll keep blacking out and you need to take her to hospital,' The American man said and I frowned. They're going to take Nic away from me now!

'I can't just make her stay with me, Xav, that's creepy on so many levels,' Michael said.

'Then you might have to stay with her, she's been unconscious for an hour already, if she's unconscious still in half an hour's time, you're gunna have to take her to the emergency room,' The American man said overhead – I think his name was Xav or something? – 'anyway, I'm going to find Crystal,'

'Thank, mate,'

'Anytime bro,' The American man said and I could hear the tranquil sound of sand sinking into itself as he walked away.

'I'll leave you too it, too. I don't want to be here for your execution when she's up, but if you need me and any point for her, call me,' Jason said.

'Thanks Jason,'

'You better love me now,' Jason retorted as he got up and walked away too. I still have no idea where I was but I knew Michael was still with me, his hand on my arm. I was also on the beach, I could tell from the stickiness of my skin from the slight sweat and the awkward feel of sand on damp skin – that and the beautiful sound of the waves crashing. As Marc was the grounds keeper for Blakeley, I was allowed down the beach when I was a teenager and I loved it completely. I used to sit down here with my reading book, reading until it was dark and the solar lights he installed on the each for me or anyone else who wanted to come down here at twilight came on. That was the sign telling me to head back home. When I was a bit older, I came down here by myself in my free periods to study, the sound of the waves calming my agitated brain. And when Nic was just over a year old, and able to crawl and stand, but not quite taking her first steps, I used to take her down here where she would sit in the shallows in between my legs for hours, never sleeping or making a fuss, just... watching the waves. When her gift started to develop, she would make the waves bigger when the surf was dead, or smaller when there was a storm. She was only two and a half when I first took her out to teach her to swim. She picked it up like a natural. And if she ever got in trouble, the waves would help her out like loyal servants to their master.

'Daddy,' I heard Nic whisper and Michael sigh.

'I don't think Sam would like you calling me that, pumpkin,' Michael said back. Too right. But my heart faltered at the casual usage of "pumpkin", what I always called Nic from when she was little.

'Oh,' Nic whispered and she sounded heartbroken. She wanted to find her Dad much more than I did, and now she had potentially found him I was holding her back. Was I doing the right thing holding her back?

'What's wrong?' Michael asked her softly.

'Why is Sam asleep?'

'Er, she's not too well Nic, hun,' Michael lied to her but I knew it was in his best interests to keep her safe. She wouldn't be okay if she knew I was lying here listening, but unable to interact or open my eyes. I feel like such an idiot.

'Will she live?' Nic gasped.

'Of course she will,' Michael laughed softly and it melted my heart. This was 100% a side of him I had never seen or even imagined him to have. He would be such a good parent, he had that perfect paternal instinct in him. Not good enough for my Nic, though.

'Sam is never ill,' Nic whispered. 'I'm scared, Mikey,'

'Hey, Nic, please don't cry,' Michael whispered, 'She'll be fine, love, she'll be fine,'

I opened my eyes quickly, my head killing me but the desire to know what was going on and needing to comfort my Nic overwhelming any pain I had ever had. I was in a cliff overhang, one I used to read in, and it was cast over with shadows which were probably why I was here. To my left, the rest of the beach seemed content like nothing abnormal was happening – Tobias was on the barbeques cooking meat when one of the Maui lot was talking to him, cutting the salad as the sausages and burgers cooked. Someone had brought down some finger food for the young children – chicken nuggets, cocktail sausages and so on – and they had all sat on a blanket on the floor eating with each other. To my right, Michael was topless and it literally took my breath away. He was sat on the floor, in just a pair of shorts, leaving his entire chest on show and believe me, it was a show. He was buff beyond compare with a tanned abdomen rippling with muscles. He even had V-lines. But the more important thing was Nic was sitting on his lap and he hugged her as she cried. Michael mumbled over and over again that I will be fine.

'Nic,' I croaked, and immediately coughed but caught the attention of the pair.

'Sammy!' Nic shouted, running towards me as Michael let go of her. She launched herself at me and I held her close to my chest.

'What are you doing here?' I hissed at Michael and he raised an eyebrow at me, gently brushing my hair out of my face.

'Don't you remember?' He said softly.

'Remember what?'

'You stacked it down the stairs; hit your head on the concrete. My cousins healed you up but you still have a nasty concussion and a black eye too.' Michael said softly, running his finger over my right eye and I flinched. 'They told me to stay with you, make sure you're okay,'

'I'll ...all good, you can leave now,' I told him, sitting up as the world went dark. I squeezed my eyes closed and put my head on my knees trying hard to keep down my dinner. The smell of burgers nearly set of my stomach, too.

'Sammy?' I heard Nic say but I didn't even trust myself to open my mouth.

'Sam, sweetheart, are you okay?' Michael said softly and I nodded. I just wanted him to bugger off. 'Nic, can you get a glass of water?' Michel asked her and she ran off quickly. 'Just breathe it through, love,'

 _Stop calling me nicknames or I will kill you,_ I snapped at him before I immediately did a double take, unable to look at him as it felt like my world collapsed and rebuilt itself at the same second. Michael was indeed my Soulfinder. He was meant to be my everything but I couldn't help but feel heartbroken. There was no way this would work – he was too perfect in every aspect for me.

 _Sorry,_ Michael whispered.

'Stop speaking telepathically,' I strained through my teeth, biting back bile that rose in my throat.

'Sam, you're my Soulfinder,' Michael said so lowly and I glared at him from the corner of my eye. God, he was too beautiful and topless.

'Put your shirt on,' I hissed back.

'You have it on,' Michael told me frowning.

'Haha,' I said, frowning at him as he raised his eyebrows at me but I looked down. My shirt I had on now was replaced with a large grey top and I immediately checked down Michael's shirt and – phew – I still had my shirt on. That could have been embarrassing if he took my shirt off.

'I think we should probably get you back home,'

'I have water!' Nic said, running up to me with a plastic tumbler with water sloshing down the side where she had run back up here. She handed me the cup as she looked at me with concern before walking over to Michael. I downed the water.

'You're not coming with me,'

'You wouldn't make it back alone, Sam, you barely sat up,' Michael argued.

'I don't care, you're not coming back to my flat,' I argued, getting up. I stumbled over my own feet, before tripping into the cave wall and cutting my hand. I heard Michael get up behind me, and I puked on the floor. My own vomit congealed with the sand, drying it up as I felt a hand on my back.

'Okay, you believing me yet?'

'I'm fine,' I said, before blacking out again, but before I could hit the sand, I felt Michael catch me and pick me up.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

 **Hello!** Me again! How are we all liking this book so far? Also, thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed and so on. Apoloise if I haven't be able to reply but it really does mean a lot. However, I need some help.

Basically I need some new characters for this book or another one potentially after; so it includes names, ages, look and their gift. I would be so grateful for every suggestion and when I find one that's suitable i'll contact the person and then upload the next chapter there and then compared to next Monday when it's due to go up :)


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - ?**

'I'm just going home,' the boy said, sticking the rest of his text books in the volt-green Nike holdall on the floor. There wasn't space for much in this sixteen year olds sports bag, and he had packed the essentials – and as education was his priories he had all of his text books, work pads and pens in the compartment for sweaty gym shoes.

'You live in South Africa,' another boy said, the same age, frowning at him as he lay in his bed, his phone illuminating his face as he frowned at the boy, anxiously checking the pockets with slight anxiety.

'I booked a flight,' the first boy whispered, checking his bedside cabinet for anything else he needed. The trip wasn't planned, and was spur of the moment, and he didn't even know how long he would be gone. He just knew he had to get out of Blakeley.

'Have you told a teacher?'

'No,'

'You should, even if it's Sam,'

'No, they're at the barbeque,' The boy whispered to his Nike Air's, not his favourite shoes or even the most comfortable but they had good grip on the soles. For running. The boy frowned – why has he concerned about running? He had never been sporty or gone for a run, and now he wore some expensive, crappy trainers for the strict point for the good grips on the mud slung soles of them. He had only used them four times for P.E. this term. 'They are busy,

'They won't be busy, she'll drop you off at the airport mate,'

'She doesn't need too,' The boy protested, doing the zips up on his bags before throwing them over the shoulder. 'I've already sent all teachers an email telling them to email me the work for the next week and I'll do it when I'm back in Cape Town,'

'You sure, Oli?' The boy on the bed said to him.

'Yes, I'm sure, don't tell anyone I'm gone until tomorrow registration,' Oli repeated picking up his holdall and another suitcase, and without another word, he walked out the door. He didn't bother saying goodbye.

The corridor mazes of the males dormitory block didn't faze him as he traced his steps without a concern. He had planned his escape down to the exact minute, knowing even the later staff would be at the beach other three kilometres away but none would be making their way back. It should be easy enough to scale the walls, walk into town and catch a taxi to Heathrow, like his parents emails to him instructed. They would pick him up when he lands.

About fifteen minutes later, he had passed his suitcase through the open beamed gates at the walk in entrance and thrown his bag over, and scaled the fence. He sat, hesitant, on the pillar next to the fence. What he was doing was stupid – he got an email from a random address that claimed to be his parents and trusted what they said. However, there was information in the email that only his parents knew. He knew it was them, but something didn't feel right. He should go back in, find a teacher and tell them but he felt compelled to leave. He sighed before hearing a loud car – one of Maui's black Jeeps, heading across the playing field and he jumped down.

'Well done, you made it,' he heard a voice say as he spun around. He couldn't find the voice. 'Don't worry; we're your family now,'

Raise the alarm – the boy thought but it was too late. He had collapsed to the ground as the shadowed figured came and picked the boy up, dragging him to the pickup truck parked just out of view.


	12. Chapter 11 - Michael

**Chapter 11 – Michael**

'I'm planting my seeds!' Nic called to me as I sat forward and frowned. I had found my way, with Nic's help, to Sam's studio apartment she shares with my daughter. After Sam had thrown up again and passed out, I got Jason and Xav to do one more look at her, cleaning up a few bits of brain swelling which caused her to throw up the second she sat up (although Jason told me it was inevitable she would,) before I carried her to one of the Jeep's to drive her back. Originally, I was going to take her to my place and make her stay in my bed so I could keep an eye on her – my Soulfinder who clearly doesn't like me – but when realising I had to look after Nic as well, I got the four year old to direct me back to theirs. Since then, I can wipe down Sam's vomit stained clothes and taken off her sticky (probably also with vomit) make up, and tucked her into bed. I had sat down awkwardly on the sofa, wondering what to do now as Nic immediately disappeared, getting changed into her pyjamas before running into the kitchen.

'Are you allowed too?' I asked, jumping up and walking into the kitchen. The entire place was immensely clean and organised and was nothing compared to my three bedroom house back in Windsor. The black-topped work tops stood out from the white-on-white room, with only wooden utensils standing out. Nic had climbed up two steps of a device I had seen Lily use to make her reach the work top, and she had got out a tray from somewhere and had loads of plant pots. And there was soil everywhere. 'Your Mum is going to kill me,' I told her.

'Sam's not my Mummy,' She whispered angrily. 'I don't have a Mummy,'

I sighed, before picking Nic up, sitting her on the work top.

'She's not your Mummy by blood, no, but she is your Mummy because she raised you and she loves you so much, Nic. Having a mother doesn't always mean who gave birth to you,' Nic wrinkled her nose, 'it means who's loved you since they got you, who stayed up all night when you were ill, who brushed your hair and dressed you in the morning and the person you go too in the middle of the night when you're scared because you had a bad dream,' I whispered to her and she nodded. 'Sam's done all of those things and more, hasn't she?'

'I love my Sammy,' Nic whispered, nodding.

'So she is your Mummy, Nic,' I told her and she nodded. 'So your Mum is going to kill me when she wakes up,'

'I'm planting her a flower,' Nic told me proudly.

'Can you make this into a flower than?' I joked, putting the seeds she had haphazardly left over the worktop into a plant pot and Nic nodded confidently. I raised my eyebrow but didn't take her word on it. I put my arm around her back gently and she grinned at me.

'Yes,' She repeated, noticing my hesitation to reply to her.

'I don't believe you,' I told her and she stuck her tongue out at me, picking up the plastic beaker of water she had somehow got before, pouring it messily into the pot, with some dripping out over the side and onto the floor. She put down the cup, now half empty and smiled at me.

'It's not doing much, Nic,' I whispered to her joking.

'Wait, Daddy!'

I waited for a moment, not entirely sure what to do now. Whenever I looked after Lily and she did something like this, she realised nothing would happen so she gave up straight away and took another route to go and do it. However, I frowned then the soil started to move. Where I had put the seed, and Nic had put some soil over the top, a small green stem sprouted from nowhere. My mouth dropped as several more green shoots appeared from nowhere, reaching up ten to twenty centimetres, growing leaves and splitting into different shoots and entangling them together before they opened up into flowers; some blue, some turquoise and some a deep purple colour.

'I told you,' Nic told me proudly.

'That's incredible, Nic, did you do that?'

'Ye, I told you I could talk to clouds too. I can also talk to trees and flowers,' She told me proudly. That must be her gift, then, to play with nature. It was incredible to watch. 'They're my only friends, apart from Sammy, and you,'

I could literally feel my heart break. I guessed Nic had socialisation issues and Ella warned me she might as well, not having a family growing up. When I drove into Blakeley, I didn't miss the reception class who were sitting outside, and I had obviously hoped my daughter was in there somewhere. It was Nic who immediately caught my eye – she looked like an obvious mix between myself and her biological mother Brooklyn. Not that I can remember her well, it had been five year since she disappeared off radar. But she was sitting by herself, as far away from the other kids as she could, drawing. The notion she was being bullied came flying over me and I frowned. No one will touch my daughter.

'Don't you have any friends in your class?' I asked her softly.

'They think I'm weird,' Nic whispered to me. 'Because I can play with clouds and, and,' Nic said softly.

'And what, sweetheart,' I asked her.

'Because I don't have a Mummy and a Daddy,' She said sadly, starting to tear up.

'Please don't cry,' I whispered to her as she started grizzling. I picked her up, hugging her to my side. 'You have me now, Nic, and you've always had Sammy,'

'But you're going to leave me,'

'I won't, Nic, I might not be able to see you all the times but I won't leave you again. That was the worst mistake ever,' I muttered to her, hugging her tight. It wasn't a choice to leave her when she was born. I had no idea she even existed until yesterday morning, but so much had happened since then. Ella was right, she always is. Once I met my daughter, there was no turning back and I was fully prepared to dedicate my life to my Nic and I knew in the moment, as she cried into my shoulder. It took a while for her to calm down, her small arms wrapped tightly around my neck but it felt natural. 'It's quite late, Nic,' I muttered as she calmed herself down and I noticed the time – half ten.

'It's past my bedtime,' Nic whispered.

'Let's get you to bed then, sweetheart,' I whispered to her. She lay with her head against my shoulder as I wiped away a tear of hers.

'You will still be here when I wake up,' Nic asked me.

'I'll still be at Blakeley, yeah,' I whispered to her. 'Go and get changed, love,' I said softly and she nodded, running into another room down a small corridor.

I stood in the main living room isolated and alone wondering what the Hell I was going to do now. Sam was my Soulfinder but it was clear that she didn't like me. Whether she didn't like me because I was fundamentally hateable, or didn't like me because I got on with Nic, or even because she knows I would want Nic in my life from now on in I had yet to find out. But there was no good outcome I could see from this. I didn't want to leave my job, and I doubt Sam wanted to leave hers. There was a three hour journey to get from Guildford to here, and even longer if I went from my house to here – and I doubt she would even want to move in with me at this current time. The other option, which Ella suggested for starters and I hated, was I would have her only on weekends. Saturday, I would pick her up and take her back to mine and drop her of Sunday night. However, with Sam working during the week it might be slightly better for me to take care of her Monday to Friday, and drive her back down for the weekend. But then she would have to move schools. However, it might be a completely new start for her, which might be what she needs after the rough start her nursery class gave her.

Who knew it would be this tricky to become a parent overnight?

I felt a tugging on my jeans and looked down. Nic was standing beside me, and she was just level with my upper thigh. I had long legs, and clearly she wasn't the tallest four year old around – and Brooklyn was barely above five foot either. Nic was in a Minnie Mouse pyjamas and it just melted my heart. I bent down to pick her up.

'I thought I said it was bedtime, sweetheart?' I whispered to her, spinning her around as she laughed.

'Can you tuck me in?' She asked me. Woah – big commitment time started here I'm guessing. 'I mean, Sammy does it for me but today she's ill,'

'I'll do it,' I told her, trying not to make her normal routine different and she grinned. 'Come on then pumpkin,'

I carried her on my hip to her bedroom and grinned when I walked in. Painted on her wall was a beautiful woodland scene with trees and animals painted. There was also Winnie the Pooh stickers on the wall. I noticed the bottom flowers weren't coloured in, but the painting itself was incredible. I stopped and stared at it for a moment, and apart from the flower, it was perfect. In the bottom corner, Sam had signed it and so did Nic, with sloppy paint handwriting. Nic's bed was facing the painting.

'Did you do this?' I asked Nic, putting her on the floor and he ran over.

'Sammy did it,' She replied happily, 'But... she made these flower into white drawing boards and gave me pens so I can colour them in whenever I want and then can wash them away so I can redo them all... do you want a go?' She asked as she yawned.

'It's your bedtime Nic,'

'But... flowers,' She asked me, before climbing into bed and looking at me expectantly.

'I'll do them tomorrow, alright?' I whispered to her as she lay down. As if I had done this a thousand times before, I pulled the duvet up and brushed Nic's hair out of the way as she smiled at me. She quickly pulled a toy over, hugging the toy tight as she curled up small.

'Promise?'

'Promise,' I whispered back, continuing to play with her hair. 'Night, Nic,' I whispered to her.

'Night Daddy, I love you,' She replied back sleepily as I switched her lamp off and my heart faltered for what felt like the eighteenth hundred since I met my daughter.

'I love you too, Nic,' I whispered back into the room, closing the door.

'Door open,' Nic whispered back and I laughed under my breath and I opened the door again.

'Of course,'

/-\\\\-/-\\\\-/-\\\\-/-\\\\-/-\\\

I sat patiently in the lounge for another half an hour, waiting for any signs of movement from either room and thankfully heard nothing. Nic was asleep, and Sam was still in her concussion daze that she got from falling down the stairs. In all honesty, I felt I caused the fall because she got panicked because I was there. Nic went flying down the stairs in my direction so I went to meet her, and this of course upset Sam and she stumbled down the stairs, smashing her head into the concrete. Let's just say thank God my two cousins, whose gifts are in healing, were there and ready to administer first aid. And then she spoke telepathically to me.

And now I'm more confused than I've ever been before.

Jason and Xav both said to me she might not remember some elements of what she's done today, but if she doesn't remember that, what would I do then. I couldn't just waltz into her room and tell her I was her Soulfinder, could I? That would be creepy. But where do we go from here? At least when Ella found Joe, they were forced to live together anyway, so when they came back from evacuation after death threats, they knew they would be okay in the same flat – I don't have that. But there was the idea that Ella was pregnant too so they had to include the baby too – I also don't have that. But we do have Nic to think about now. Sam would be confused about that. She had told Ella she had thought about finding Nic's father to try and help her, and now she had found me she would be clueless what to do.

There was a thud from Sam's room and I immediately got up and walked over to the door.

'Oh you're _still_ here,' Sam groaned, trying to lean over to pick up her phone. I walked over, picking it up for her and handing it to her as she glared at me. I awkwardly sat on the edge of her bed.

'How are you feeling?'

'I would be better if you're not here,' She bitterly said before realising what she said. She covered her mouth. 'I am so sorry, I didn't mean that,'

The words stung, but I just smiled slightly.

'It's okay,' I said through gritted teeth.

'Thank you for bringing me back here and Nic... wait, you did bring Nic as well?'

'Of course I did, I'm not stupid. She grew you a plant,' I said, nodding to the pot Nic had insisted leaving her plant on the bedside cabinet when I checked up on Sam. 'I cleaned up the mess, don't worry,'

Sam nodded, rolling onto her side to frown at me. There was a hell of a bump on her head and without even thinking about it, I ran my fingers over it gently. She frowned at me, before grabbing my wrist gently.

'What happened, Michael?' She whispered. 'I think I remember, but...'

'You fell down the stairs; you hit your head hard.' I tried to explain.

'We were in a cave?'

'We were in a cliff overhang, yeah, I got my cousins to fix you up, a few minor injuries. You woke up, told me where to stick it, threw up and passed out again,' I said to her softly.

'You're my Soulfinder?' She said so quietly I could barely hear it as she looked up at me frowning.

'Yeah,' I grinned at her. But she barely cared. I may as well have told her that it's raining. Or there was some chicken in the fridge.

'And Nic's Dad?'

'Yeah,' I replied back again.

'Good, you can leave now,'

She lay there, before bolting to sit up right, kicking off the duvet. 'Where are you going?' I asked her before immediately bringing over the dustbin she had in the corner of her bedroom which had paperwork in. Without even so much of a warning she threw up again into the bin.

'Yeah, I'm not leaving you, Sam, especially when you're like this,' I protested back and she fell back onto the bed, starting to cry. 'Oh, love, please don't,' I whispered, pulling her back up and tentatively putting my arm around her shoulders. She leaned in fully to me, sobbing into my chest as I hugged her tight.

'I'm so confused, Michael, I don't know what to do,' Sam told me.

'I don't either, my love,' I confessed to her.

'I'm just so tired,' She mumbled to me.

'Come on them,' I whispered, lowering her back into the bed.

'Stay with me?' She whispered and I frowned feeling suddenly torn as to what to do. I was fully prepared to sleep on the sofa. And did she not just ask me to leave? She literally had told me to leave not even moments previous. God, she changes her mind quick. I just remained silent, giving her time to change her mind. 'Please don't leave me,'

'What, like, here?' I asked her and she nodded, rolling over. 'If you insist,'

I quickly took of my jean leaving them in the corner of the room, and climbed into the right side of the bed with just my Calvin Kleins on, and Sam frowned at me as she watched me. Silently, I put my arm out and she immediately snuggled into my chest. I was a bit taken back, but I just smiled at her kissing her forehead. Did she not a few minutes ago ask me to leave? What is going on? She told me to leave her and Sam alone and now she wanted hugs? Was this normal female behaviour? I had never been close to anyone female apart from my stubborn arse sister and I definitely couldn't use her as an example of femininity and common behaviour.

'I'm sorry, Michael,' She whispered ever so softly.

'You've done nothing to be sorry for,' I whispered back, hugging her tighter. I couldn't believe how small she was – and gentle, and beautiful. She was stunning – and where did all of this hair come from? I ran my hand through it, gently playing with it. A long river of dark brown, which complimented her ice blue eyes. Yeah, I had totally fallen for her. My beautiful Soulfinder, and my beautiful daughter too.

Within the ten minutes I had been laying there debating what to do now, I noticed Sam had fallen asleep laying on my shoulder, her hand on my bare chest, my shirt still on her. The realisation hit me full on.

I would do anything to keep Nic and Sam safe.

Hello! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reviewing and messaging me, it really does mean alot! I promise soon it starts getting a bit more interesting and it all kicks off, and we will meet some new characters that has been mentioned in Ella's book, some old friends of both Ella and Michael, some bad people return and so on. I would mention some more but spoilers!:)


	13. Chapter 12 - Sam

**Chapter 12 – Sam**

I had woken up at half four, like I do every morning without fail, but I had woken up happy and relaxed, something that hasn't happened since Nic was dropped off with me. I didn't regret her, people don't get that, but they wonder why I wake up in fear. I was scared I wasn't doing anything right for my Nic. I wonder if I should have given her up to someone who knows what they're doing. Headmistress, when Nic first came here, sat me down and told me there was so many loving parents, where there was two parents, who would love her to pieces and make sure Nic grew up safely and in a good environment with a good school and potentially siblings and two parents to dote on her. But I didn't. I loved Nic from the second I held her, and she just laid in my arms looking at me. I loved her to pieces. But the next question was do I listen to the note. Do I try and find Nic's father? At the time, I didn't need him. I was fine with my Nic by myself. I was fine without my Soulfinder. But as Nic grew up, so did the desire to find Nic's Dad, and my Soulfinder. But I didn't want to lose her. But now, I was relieved. I had found her Dad, it was just a shame I hated him. Well, I didn't hate him. I... I am just jealous and I know it was _pathetic._

I opened my eyes, and immediately did a double take as I realised what was in my room. Or rather who. Michael was lying next to me (well, I was lying on his shoulder my leg curled over his leg) with his arm around my waist and he was topless. Oh. My. God.

Realising promptly what happened yesterday, I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't done anything stupid but there was anger in my chest. He got to look after Nic as I laid here pathetically asleep because I fell down the stairs. And then I threw up in front of him, twice. And I told him to bugger off before begging him to stay. What was wrong with me? I was torn between wanting to get to know him better, wanting to get on and wanting him to bugger off and leave me alone. I decided I had to give Michael a chance; for Nic's sake more than mine. Well, partially mine. I wanted to see how my Soulfinder reacted around his daughter. I wanted to see how my Soulfinder was around me.

Slowly, I got up without waking Michael and climbed out of bed. Although, I did turn around to look at him and realised he was probably a Greek God – he looked like he was sculpted. His beautiful face looked so calm when he was asleep and that slight frown he had when he was awake and around me. His body was just... intense. And let's not to mention the fact he was just wearing his Calvin Klein's. . I really needed to keep it together.

I slowly walked into Nic's room, where she was tucked up happily into her bed, hugging her bunny toy I had got her a week after she had been left to me.

'Nic, hun, it's time to wake up,' I whispered to her, sitting on her bed.

'Sammy?'

'Hey,'

'Are you ill?'Nic asked me.

'I'm fine now, don't worry love,' I told her. 'Get changed, we'll go up the hill,' and Nic shot up out of bed and walked over to her small chair in the corner, where she leaves her morning clothes to go and play with the clouds and flex her gift.

I edged out of the room and back into my bedroom, grabbing a pair of jeans, some underwear and a thick hooded jumper before sneaking out the room, getting changed in the lounge. There was no way I would risk getting changed when Michael was in the room.

'You ready?' I whispered to Nic as she ran out of her room, putting on her trainers before standing in front of me. I crouched down, tying her shoe laces, wondering who decided to invent elasticised laces on kid.

'Is Daddy coming with us?' Nic asked.

'He's asleep,' I told her.

'Then wake him up,' Nic protested.

'It's not that easy, my hun,' I whispered to Nic, grabbing my marking satchel from beside the door, before picking up Nic. However, Nic stayed ominously quiet as I closed the apartment door but not locking it – giving Michael plenty of time to flee – and headed down to the front door of the small rise block of flats.

The sky was clouded over my dark storm clouds as I left my staff studio flat for the walk to the top of the hill. This morning was somewhat cooler, so I found out Nic's old fleece jacket from last year and shrugged it on her. She looked less than impressed as she had grown quite a bit within the last year, and the sleeves were short on her. It looked like I had shrunk the jacket in the wash. I held her hand as she happily walked next to me, looking at the dark sky which had yet to break into day. She was happily telling me about her school day yesterday as the exercise books in my side satchel were digging into my leg.

'Sam,' Nic said.

'Yeah?'

'Why are there so many scary people at school now?' Nic asked me softly as we started to climb up the hill to our favourite place for her to cloud watch and me to mark essay papers.

'They're not scary,' I whispered. They're terrifying. They are so powerful and just being around that level of authority scared the shit out of me. Michael terrified me. He was so powerful, so powerful and he can easily order Nic to be taken away from me. Not to mention the others that had come with Maui are terrifying too. The thing that really got me was how much of Michael's family work with Maui, they would easily over power me if it came to a custody battle. They're all dedicated to each other, working like a textbook family where I wasn't really much. He could just take my daughter and leave me behind. But I doubt he would. But, I saw how well they got on. If he didn't want me in his life, and now he knew who I was and how little I meant, he could just leave me and within a few months, I'd be a distance memory. And that's why they terrified me.

'You think they're scary,' Nic said, nodding to herself. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, all of Maui.

'I'm scared of them, yes, but I don't think they're terrifying,' I corrected her.

'Why are you scared? Are they monsters?'

'No, they're anything but monsters, Nic. They're like angels who guard us from bad people,' I tried to explain to her, but how could a four year old understand what I was on about? She wouldn't understand my irrational fears.

'You're my angel,' Nic said before letting go of my hand and running to the top of the hill, finding her exact spot which had worn grass from her frequent pacing before staring up at the clouds, mumbling slightly. I sighed before heading to my favourite spot, throwing my bag on the floor before sitting down on the pavement square, crossing my legs and pulling out the first exercise book which had the half written timed essays of the pupils yesterday.

It was about ten minutes later when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped, dropping the book on the damp mildew grass as I turned around to see who it was.

Michael was crouched behind me, his eyes full of concern as his hand dropped from my shoulder.

'Sorry,' He simply said, still crouching.

'What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?' I hissed at him, before looking forward to make sure Nic was still okay, and sure enough she was still mumbling at the sky, unaware that Michael had joined us.

'You left earlier.' He simply said, sitting down beside me bringing is legs to his chest before frowning at me. 'You're still concussed,'

'I don't need your babysitting, I am more than capable to look after myself,' I hissed to him.

'You really don't like me, do you?' He asked me softly.

'I don't like you babying me, like you own me or something,' I muttered back.

'Sorry,' He said again, looking over at Nic. 'I never meant to annoy you, Sam, you know that? I never meant to annoy you, piss you off or get on your nerves. I have no idea who you really are apart from Nic's Mum, but clearly I have done something to annoy you,' He said in an incredibly soft tone that made me want a hug and to perhaps have a cry as well.

How did I explain to this beautiful creature that I don't hate him, but I more hated the fact he got on so well with my Nic? How could I even begin to explain to him that I was terrified of him taking Nic away from me, and them both forgetting I would never exist and I would have no one?

'That's a good enough fear to be annoyed at me for,' Michael said to me and I frowned at him.

'You can read my thoughts?'

'You can manipulate emotions,' Michael said back, shrugging slightly. 'What's Nic doing?'

'She can manipulate, if you like that word, the weather and nature. Every morning we go out here, and I let her play with the cloud for a hour and a bit and we get ready for school. She's calmer after it,'

'Bad behaviour common from her?' Michael asked her and I nearly flipped at him – how dare he accuse my kid of "bad behaviour"? - but I saw the look in his eyes and it was full of devotion and concern. He just wanted to help her.

'Not bad, as such, just more antisocial and awkward,' I replied back.

'Does she struggle?'

'Yeah, the other kids don't really include her.' I told him. 'They find her weird because she doesn't have parents,'

'She has you,' He told me and I frowned. 'No, I will tell you exactly what I told Nic last night, you loved her when she needed it, you cared for her every day for the last four years. When she's ill, you've been there and when she's being annoying. You are her Mum, Sam, no matter how much you argue.' Michael told me.

'Nice for you to think so,' I whispered.

'Sam, love, I know,' He replied to me. 'You're brilliant, Sam,' He whispered to me and I looked into his eyes. They were a wonderful green colour that shone in the low light of the morning. I looked at Nic for a second, and she still hadn't noticed that her father, my Soulfinder, had appeared next to me or that I was talking to someone. I looked back to Michael, blushing slightly as his hand gently brushed a strand of loose hair away. I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly leaned forward and forced my lips upon his. For a moment, he held back in confusion before kissing me back, wrapping his arms around my waist. The force from me caused us to lose balance and lay back on the grass, with me on top of him. Something between us exploded and I felt a hungriness I had never felt before. I wanted Michael. I never wanted him to leave. I realised only now, with his arms holding me tight to him, his hand gently playing with the material of the shirt as his hand slipped under my shirt, that I really did like him. More than just a friend. I was jealous, yes, but that didn't help me when it came to Michael himself. I really did like him a bit too much to be healthy.

Michael was the one who broke the kiss, and he was grinning at me.

'What got into you,' He said in a low tone and it sent shivers down my spine

'Don't leave me, Michael, you're the best thing that's happened to me since she came along,' I whispered to him as he hugged me slightly.

'You change your mind a lot, you know that?'

'I know,' I whispered, but my heart decided this one. Already, I felt a lot more comfortable with him. He grinned down at me. 'I still don't like you though,'

'Okay, I'll take that,' Michael joked, gently brushing my cheek.

An impending doom fell over me as I realised I had unlocked all the emotions that came with finding your Soulfinder – but the concussion pushed them to one side. I couldn't comprehend it yesterday, but everything happened at once and in the middle of a kiss. Him being nice to me triggered it somehow but I realised this could never last. He was out of my league; so far out of my league it was incredible. But, he also had to return to Maui. He was the assistant manager there for Christ sake, and that meant incredible amounts in the Savant community. Young kids at Blakeley said they wanted to be the assistant manager at Maui rather than normal kids who wanted to be Prime Minster or the King or something. It was strived for. And he was partnered up with me. I was a dormouse compared to his Greek God status. He would have to go back to Guildford or wherever he lived, and I would have to stay here. I couldn't see a way around it. I would only be able to see him a day or so every week. And we still had the issue of Nic to sort out – but I assume if we were like this, it'll be easier than if we hated each other.

'We'll work it all out; I'm here for another few days at the minimum,' Michael told me. 'We'll work it out,'

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

 **Hello! Sorry it's been so long, I've been catching up on essays and doing volunteer work and so on, and I haven't had a backlog of chapters like I normally do. I've worked hard over the last few days to write a few more chapters and I've got to the main point in the book which is a bit earlier than the other two, but it'll last for longer too. Its still too early to tell how long the book will be. And, apologies to the people who asked me to stop with the cliff hangers at the end of every chapter - I am sorry because you're not going to like what's going to happen.**

 **Also, to the other anonymous review yesterday who mentioned about an update schedule and Building Jason. I am getting there, I promise, I've written quite a few chapters but it's not linked to the end of the book which is Jason and Lucy's engagement. I originally had planned to finish Shattering Lucy mid-July, however, I rushed it out in order to have it finished before their baby Tyler made an appearance in this book. I am writing Building Jason, yes, but it might take a week or two more until I have written those chapter to tie them all together.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it really does mean a lot! :)**


	14. Chapter 13 - Sam

**Chapter 13 – Sam**

At seven, we had to break it off to get ready for the day. The meeting of which we were both in started at 8:45 and we had to be there earlier to get registered in. For about fifteen minutes whilst I was panic-marking the remaining essays, Michael had watched Nic the entire time, grinning at her but was amazed, watching the clouds circle and start to break above her as the storm clouds turned into a luscious blue sky.

'Just put your uniform on, love,' I called to her Nic, who had just asked what she had to wear to the meeting, desperately trying to flick through my limited wardrobe to find anything formal.

 _Wear anything, you'll still look gorgeous._ Michael said to me softly telepathically.

 _You're really not helping!_ I told him blocking him out but my gut told me I wasn't doing the right thing talking to him. It felt like I was using him to keep Nic. I was just so swamped with emotions, wondering what I was doing and questioning my own motive. Nic was the most important thing to me, but I would never use someone. I would never use Michael.

I pulled out a mid-thigh length skirt, a black camisole and a flowery kimono to wear over the choice, pulling them all on before sliding on a pair of ballet pumps and a few squirt of perfume before coming out into the lounge. Nic was sitting on the floor, already changed and packing her lunch into her Frozen backpack. Grabbing a brush from the side board, I kneeled behind her and started to brush her hair

'You look pretty,'

'Thank you, Nic,'

'Daddy will like you like that,' She whispered.

'Oh,' was all I could say. I plaited Nic's hair.

'Daddy said to me last night that even if you're not my Mummy, you are my Mummy because you... you love me every day,' Nic whispered. I took a breath in. Nic occasionally sulked because I didn't want her to call me Mummy because I felt like I didn't deserve that title. She had begged me to let her call me Mummy, but it was just bit weird now. But she had taken to calling Michael "Daddy" straight away. But knowing that last night, not only did he look after me and then stayed with Nic, making sure she was in bed and tidied the flat up too, he had told Nic the importance of me in words I could never even phantom saying to her made me want to cry. Bless him and his heart of gold.

'Thank you, Sammy,' Nic whispered, hugging me once her hair was finished and I hesitated. Was she thanking me for her hair or a lot more?

'Let's get you down to school, then,' I picked her up, chucking her backpack over my shoulder.

'How are you feeling?' Tobias came up to me, as I had Nic hanging around my legs, happily walking by herself wanting to go to school; something that hasn't happened since her first day of preschool. 'You were pretty roughed up last night,' He mentioned to me.

'I'm better now,' I muttered softly and he frowned at me.

'You are a terrible liar,' Tobias told me and I looked at the floor at my pumps as I realised I wasn't better; I still had a killer headache and my vision kept going blurred and I was still squinting against the light and straight lines to me don't exist anymore. But I didn't want to tell anyone in case I got barred from the meeting and I didn't want to tell Michael either because I didn't want him to worry or take Nic away from me as he would no doubt force me to rest. I couldn't do that to her, not until I spoke to her properly.

'I'll be fine, don't worry about me,' I told him.

'I will always worry about you Sammy, you're like my little sister,' he said, hugging me to his side and ruffling my hair slightly. 'Like I'm still worried about why that creep stayed with you yesterday after you fell,'

'He's not a creep,' I immediately went to defend Michael and wondered more about the whole Soulfinder thing. I didn't know what I wanted to do about it yet but I really did like him, and so did Nic, and he proved how gentle and caring he was when he looked after Nic yesterday when I was unconscious. Hell, he even helped her grow a plant for me, and she never uses her gift around anyone apart from me in the morning. And he was brilliant to me too and I realised I had mistaken him for someone he never was. Did he not let me hug him in my sleep and didn't think about it? Did he not come and meet me this morning at stupid in the morning? I needed to pull him away at some point today and talk to him in honesty. I needed to know what he wanted from me and Nic, and whether him all being nice was to get his daughter back, or because he felt the effects of our Soulfinder bond.

'He was right by your side the second you fell, and then carried you back to your room. That's creepy,'

'Oh, would you rather him leave me at the bottom of the stairs with no medical attention and then leave both myself and Nic on the beach all night?' I argued back.

'He called over his cousins to check you out,'

'Both of their gifts are healing. They were fixing up the bruises and the injured I got from stacking it down the stairs,'

'Oh,' Was all Tobias said, 'Did he look after Nic?' he asked me and I frowned at him. Of course he looked after Nic. He did a brilliant job; too, she hadn't stopped telling me about the flower this morning.

'Yeah, he's brilliant with her,' I muttered.

I just had no idea if his brilliance with his daughter would extend to me if I wanted that – or would he just take my girl away from me without even considering the consequences? He was quite well known in the Savant world for being stone headed and won't really consider other people if he didn't have to. I hadn't seen that side of him, but if what the whispered voices were true, would he just take Nic away from me?

Why was this all so confusing?


	15. Chapter 14 - Michael

Chapter 14 – Michael

'Uncle Michael,' Lily said softly beside me, and I turned in my chair to look at my eldest niece. Well, my only niece. After the car crash that both Ella and I were involved in, we were adopted by different members of our original family. Ella was adopted by Saul Benedict, who was our mother's brother or our Uncle on her side, and I was fostered by Marci and Fred, with Marci being our father's oldest sister. I was never adopted, only fostered and pretty much once I turned eighteen they didn't really consider me as family anymore. I think seeing me every single day only rubbed salt into a scar of having a car crash killing your youngest brother, and five of your nieces and nephews. Oh, and it stretched the family canvas completely out of shape. Marci and Fred ended up having seven of their own children, the oldest at the moment being seventeen. However, Cas, the eldest boy, was my personal favourite brother and he quite often would come onto base with me and I would train him in martial arts and make him do his schoolwork. But because the kids were all so young, it only mean I had a single niece and my baby nephew and that was it. I was glad I had Ella when I moved out, because it made me realise how much I missed my baby sister. No matter how old we are, she will always be that four year old girl who was injured so bad in that car crash they had already included her in funeral arrangement but still fought for over a year, with four months being in a coma in a life threatening "grave" condition, but then when she saw me for the first time asked if I was okay. Her concern for me whilst she was in crap conditions only ever highlighted her family dedication. To further it all, when she woke up after she effectively got attacked by terrorists, her firsts words to me as, "shit, you look crap," and she had medically died twice.

'What's up?' I asked Lily.

'Mummy said that I have a cousin,' She whispered to me, looking up at me shyly.

'Yeah, you do,' I told her softly and she grinned at me, her front tooth missing from when she lost it a few day ago. I was completely unaware to how she was growing up so fast. I still remember having a mental breakdown in the hospital room when I went to see her the day she was born. I think I saw her when she was seven hours old and I just sat there in silence holding her debating my entire existence. My younger kid sister had her own kid. I didn't realise how long I was just staring my niece for but I can guarantee you Ella and Joe were okay with it because by the time I snapped out of it, both of them were asleep on the bed. I then sat there for another four hours until Ella woke up again when the midwife came back in to check on her.

'Do I get to meet her and have picnics,' Lily said softly as she continued to colour in the chunky colouring book I had brought from her a few months ago and she was still diligently working through the book.

'Er, yeah,' I said softly, passing her another crayon that was in front of me as she took it, 'It may take a while, though,'

'Mummy explained,' She said gently. 'It's okay, Uncle Michael, I can wait,' `she whispered to me before handing me a crayon. 'You can help me,'

'Lily, I can't really,' I said looking around the board room where everyone from Maui was already sat waiting for the staff from Blakeley to come in. There was the thirteen of us and the four kids we brought with us and everyone at the moment was very chilled at the moment; Jake was sitting next to me with his brother, Quinn. I sat next to them with Lily in a chair beside me, but I got told she would be sitting on my lap when it came to the actual meeting. Joe was crouching on the floor next to Ella, talking to her but keeping an eye on Lily too. Charlie was in Ella's lap, leaning against her slightly as he looked around the room. Lucy and Jason were sitting roughly opposite me, with Tyler asleep happily in Lucy's arms and she looked at him like she never wanted to let go of him.

'Colour,' Lily said to me and I sighed, realising I had blanked the toddler. I picked Lily up, sat her on my lap and hugged her, before moving her colouring book over and starting to colour with her.

I had started to think about the people around me, and how it ended up with them all having kids and my addiction to sitting in my office making chocolate cornflake nests. Lucy never really had a good chance at life and I was grateful that my cousin had managed to give her all she wanted in life; someone to trust and to lean on. Oh, and a baby too. It was interesting back at home at the moment; with three new kids who were always in the office at work I had become part time Government worker in the Savant equivalent of MI5, but part time nursery runner. I was completely okay when Jake had the twins, Isla and Amelia, and coped in to play the part then. And of course when Lily was born I never stopped wanting to look after her. I watched countless Disney films with her from the moment she was born until now. Even when Jake's third child was born, Jacob, I was fine watching the same God damn Disney films, or holding him when he throw a completely tantrum.

However, when Ella was pregnant with Charlie and Lucy fell pregnant with Tyler too, I knew something was up and it wouldn't' be like any other time previous. I then got the news from Jake that his wife, Leanne, was pregnant once again and all of the due dates within a few months of each other.

And then it turned messy really quickly; Ella had gone on maternity leave a month before her due date just in case the baby decided to come early much like Lily did and it was on the third day that Joe got a phone call from her. She had gone into labour at home with Lily there. Joe of course left straight away after telling me to sort out his paternity leave. I then got a call two hours later, saying that their son was born at home and Joe delivered him. He had literally came through the door, asked Lily where Mummy was, and Lily calmly told him she was upstairs doing the cleaning and she wasn't even too bothered, the five year continued to draw on her pad of paper whilst watching Disney films whilst Joe ran upstairs – to Ella wanting to push. Joe, like a complete saint that he is, calmly Google'd how to deliver a baby in an emergency, and delivered his own son, the afterbirth and cut the cord all fine and everything. He then called Jason to come over and give Ella the once over as well as baby Charlie, and when they were both good, he called me.

Leanne went into labour two weeks after, in hospital like planned, and had Nathan. Three months later, Lucy decided she also wanted a home birth (this one planned, compared to Ella's attempt of "let's go with it!") and a water birth too, and Jason delivered his son too and nailed that as well. I mean, it was handy for Jason to know that their son would be born on that time as Joe had foreseen it and had let him know, as it gave them time to go and fill the home birthing pool, and it was all done extremely naturally. So naturally in fact five hours after the birth Jason went to get KFC. Ever since then, there have been three babies who are always in Maui, and I have been the main babysitter as I didn't have any kids of myself. Well, that was until I found out about Nic.

There was so much about Nic that I didn't even know. I had no idea when she was born, what her favourite colour is, what her first word was either. I didn't know anything about her apart from the fact she can play with clouds and make flowers grow.

I heard the chair next to me scrape and I immediately looked up to see Joe sitting in the chair next to me and frowned at him. It took me a second longer than it should to realise that the room was now filled with people, including the nine members of staff that were invited into the meeting with us. I scanned the room whilst Lily was happily colouring and saw Sam sitting opposite me but up four chairs, and she was sitting with Nic on her lap.

 _How long have you been?_ I gently asked Sam, noticing her jump slightly and Nic looked up at her frowning.

 _I didn't even recognise you, enjoying colouring?_ She replied and I grinned. Speaking telepathically was always kind of weird, but not with Sam. It felt completely natural. I looked to my right, where I caught Ella leaning into Joe's chest, his arm around her, gently touching the top of her arm where a scar from the car crash was ever present.

I think the car crash was the reason we were so close, and we were so strong. It had been tough for us, but it was impossible to say who had it worse. We both had been torn apart from our family. We had both watched our older brothers and sisters die in front of us. We went from being a happy collective family to being orphans in ten seconds – probably less than that. However, I escaped with only broken bones and I was extremely thankful even now. I had been in the back of the car, on the left hand side. The crash involved two cars which carried our two families, and then a lorry that was driving on the wrong side of the M4. The lorry slammed straight into the first car, causing it to crumple up entirely before hitting the concrete central reservation. It killed everyone in the car when the lorry hit it, they told us when we grew up. I believed that – no one could survive a head on collision with a joint speed of 160mph. Our car had swerved to avoid the front car, but we ended up hitting the central reservation at just under 70mph. Mum had been killed instantly, taking the impact, and our brother, Cameron, was killed from internal bleeding from the impact. Chris, the oldest brother, was killed from internal bleeding as well in the back of the front car but his was from ruptures everywhere from impact and a broken neck. I didn't hit the concrete, and just ended up with broken ribs, arms, legs and a punctured lung. Ella, however, the seventh child in our family, was a complete car crash. She had broken a fair few bones, punctured lung and appendix, tore valve in her heart, concussion and brain swelling, cuts down to the bones that weren't broken. They thought she was dead. Somehow, through countless operations, she had survived the four critical months she was in a coma. She was only four when it happened. They told Saul, her adoptive Dad, chances are she wouldn't remember anything but she does only too well. From the age of five to about fifteen she still had to go in for operations, to remove metal plates or replace them. On the top of her right arm, there were bits of glass and metal so deep they had to remove them extremely slowly to avoid extensive tissue damage. They tried to keep the incisions to the same scar but they couldn't. Ella now had almost a square shape on her upper arm and she's only just realised that it's okay to have scars on show and no one will judge her. However, having Joe by her side made her a lot more comfortable and Joe normally rested his hand over the jaggered square scar.

I had hated Joe when I first met him. This was way before Ella had met him. He was my best friend's youngest brother, and he had the biggest, cockiest attitude imaginable. He sat there practically sulking, not talking through his entire induction period at Maui. I was amazed by how much of an asshole he was and how he kept it up for months on end. Ella came over with her sister-in-laws ,and they were all incredible friends. There was a week before Ella and the girls went down to Cornwall and I agreed to let them all stay at mine. They had touched down from their flight and I got a call from the big boss saying they needed Ella in to work with someone knew on an interview.

Ella's gifts were so incredibly unique that they couldn't find a partner to work with her. They needed someone who could force someone to talk, but brain manipulation doesn't work around Ella. I had a gut feeling the second they called me that they wanted her to work with Joe. She was willing to give it a go, and so was Joe, and they worked incredibly together. They got someone to admit to murder in four minutes of them both being in the room together. Ella didn't really seem bothered about him, but I noticed the way he was looking at my little sister. I've seen that look before, and no way was he touching my little sister. However, Ella was more than covered. She didn't speak to Joe after she completed the Race for Life event she was doing and the week she stayed with me, when Crystal and Sky went off to see family and Phee stayed with her at the house, she didn't see Joe at all. It was only on the night of Samara's engagement do which i never went too and the girls booked the hotel I think it all kicked off. What I got from them at the time was Joe and Ella spent the night together after clearly drinking too much and nothing happened. Ella returned to Colorado, came back four months later and was incredibly ill, she pushed it too much and Joe took her home and for some reason, five hours later she was still in the town centre near my house and she telepathically contracted me telling me about a terrorist attack she had just foresaw. Her gift had nothing to do with the future, so even now I dunno how she did it unless she somehow stole Joe's gift. Both her and Joe were evacuated due to death threats sent through Maui to them to the middle of Cornwall. I had hated him for being alone with my little sister for so long, but then I had to be thankful because he was looking after my kid sister when I wasn't able too.

However, eighteen days later when we picked them up after they stupidly disabled bomb on a small island and Ella was practically dead, I had lost it at him. He was fine, Ella was near enough dead. When I went to yell at him, I realised he wasn't coping at all and he was in shock and he just kept asking where Ella was, how was she, and when will she be okay. It was then I started to realise that maybe it was more than just a fling. Ella woke up a few days after the whole thing, and Joe didn't leave her side once through it.

I wasn't even aware Ella had woken up, I left to grab a coffee for Joe who refused to sleep until Ella was awake, and when I got back Joe was in the bed with Ella, and Ella was holding onto him for her life. He told me they were Soulfinder's and I didn't believe him. He wasn't good enough for her. No one was. It was only when Ella was a bit more conscious she had told me and convinced me just to drop and it leave her to do her own thing that I backed off him and I realised how good they were for each other. Joe dropped the attitude and was likeable, and Ella was so much happier in herself. Her insomnia cleared up. They got their own place together and I've never seen my sister so happy. They got engaged and after a stern word with Joe, I was okay with it.

And then they told me Ella was pregnant and I was all sceptical again. I was going to kill Joe. He did bad stuff with my kid sister, and now she was pregnant. But once again after Ella yelled at me I stepped back and let them do their thing and it was the best decision both of them had made. A few months l had my niece and I had to admit Joe was the best thing to happen to my sister. He had an innate soft side that was comforting to my previously constantly distressed sister, and he helped her when no one else could. And that was when I realised exactly what Soulfinder's are. Someone who would help you when no one else could, and wouldn't leave you to struggle alone.

I looked back over to Sam, who was looking at me slightly awkwardly; Nic sitting in between her legs with her Frozen backpack, similar to the one Lily has, looking for something deep within it. That's what it felt like. I didn't want to leave her, send her back to what must have been a silent struggle for her. She was mine. She was my Soulfinder. She hated me – but did she? Did she this morning make out with me and let me talk to her, hugging her to my side where she felt like he belonged? Did she not tell me I was the best thing that happened to her? We needed to talk about it properly but I had a feeling that she wouldn't want a clean defined conversation when she was scared about losing her kid.

And in all honesty, I was scared of losing my kid too, but I would lose not only Nic but also Sam too.


	16. Chapter 15 - Michael

**Chapter 15 – Michael**

The meeting started at dead on nine o'clock, when Susan turned up. She had been unable to come down the day before like all of us due to grandmotherly commitments, but she had arrived in the early hours of this morning in order to hold the meeting. In all honesty, I had no idea why there was so many of Blakeley staff sitting in on the meeting because it was only the Headmistress who was speaking, and it was mainly Jake and Ella speaking back with Susan.

'Of course student safety is unprecedented, especially in such a large establishment and this clearly shows there are faults within the security,' Susan simply said.

'All off the disappearance happened after we dropped them off at the airport, ma'am, we followed the guide lines perfectly. We got members of staff to take the students in low numbers to the airports and wait until they got through security before leaving,' Headmistress told her back.

'I wouldn't assume whoever is responsible would be targeting the school itself but rather the students,' Ella said.

'Which then in turn makes it difficult to provide any form of help; we can't predict who is at risk at all. Of course, the priority here is the student's safety however they are teenagers too. They have to have their freedom; they have to have their own life as well.' Susan retorted.

'We could impose a ban of travel,' Headmistress suggested.

'And stop the kids seeing their parents, sibling and so on?' I snapped back. 'You can't stop kids from seeing their parents. Their friends, fellow pupils are going missing. They might just want to go home to feel safe, and banning them from that would impose more of a risk,' I said back.

'Michael is correct; we can't force a ban,' Susan said. 'But following the events of what happened last summer with the twenty four girls, which of course included Ella and Lucy,' Susan looked over at both of the girls, where Ella looked down at the table and Jason put his arm gently around Lucy as she looked incredibly sad when Susan brought it back up again. 'Chances are, it's continuing,'

It wasn't what we wanted to hear; a ruthless bastard murdered eighteen people before twenty four others were kidnapped within three hours of each other – including my pregnant little sister who was taken from just outside her own home. It took thirteen days to track them down and throw in an operation to get them out. However, one of the girls was never found. She is assumed dead but still was missing. But the girl who was missing was Lucy's best friend and roommate and she felt responsible for her death. Even after she had therapy for her abuse as a child, she admitted to feeling so guilty that she survived the ordeal and came out better than before – having Jason and a new house and a cat too – and her best friend was assumed dead. We had looked into who had done it and it happened to be Lucy's father.

Luman Carnes was well known among all Savant's for being a complete twat in polite terms. He has a pardon against his name and owns several big companies and has more than a billion pounds to his name. However, his crime list included a range including now murder, attempted murder, kidnap, sexual abuse of a minor and child trafficking from when Lucy was a teenager and she was sold as a sex toy for her father's friends. He admitted to kidnapping the girls, but his location keeps changing and even if we find him, we won't be able to lock him up. But to hear he might be continuing on his crimes and now targeting children sickened me.

'He knows where the all the kids are, though, and he must have intellect from the inside because he knows exactly when they are due to fly, from what airport and even down to what time the member of staff leaves.'

'Who normally does the airport runs?' Ella asked.

'Sam or Tobias,' Headmistress told her and I looked straight at Sam who looked heartbroken.

 _What's wrong?_ I gently asked her and she shrugged tearing up.

 _I need to tell you something,_ She said to me ever so softly.

 _Susan, can you pause the meeting momentarily? The kids are all getting restless._ I asked Susan and she looked at me. The kid's weren't restless; in fact, they were being incredibly well behaved. I think Susan knew this, but still she nodded.

'We're just going to pause the meeting for ten minutes to allow the kids along us to go and get some air,' Susan adjourned the meeting and got up, walking out the door as if to say "yeah, this is over for now,"

'I'll take Lils outside,' I told Ella and she leaned forward and frowned at me.

'She's fine,' Ella protested where Lily was happily sitting on my lap.

'She's getting restless,' I argued back weakly.

'Who exactly are you looking at? 'cause it aint our daughter,' Joe said back to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam stand up, putting Nic down on the floor and both of them walked out the room. 'Oh, you could have just said that,' Joe replied.

'Yeah, you literally could have just said "I'm going outside to talk to Sam," we don't care. Lils, run around and make Uncle Michael's life hard, alright?' Ella addressed the latter part to Lily on my lap and she just grinned and nodded. 'That's what you get for lying.' Ella told me, shaking her head mockingly.

'Thanks, Ella,' I replied back sarcastically. I picked up Lily and put her on my shoulders before getting up, walking out the door without a sideways glance at my sister and brother in law. God damn them for being so understanding

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

I saw Sam long before she saw me. Nic was happily walking along the gravel circle that acted as a turning circle near the front entrance and Sam was sitting on the floor. She turned around when she noticed someone was walking up behind her. I picked Lily off from my shoulders and put her down on the floor where she immediately ran off, like Ella told her too. I gently sat next to Sam.

'What's up?' I gently asked her as she sighed.

'It's my fault this happened, Michael, all of this is my fault,' Sam whispered.

'Are you admitting to kidnapping five pupils?' I asked her.

'No! I took them to the airport. I took them to be kidnapped. I should have waited around for their flights to take off, I should have escorted them to the plane itself,' she whispered and I raised my eyebrow.

'Sam, you are not to blame for this. You didn't kidnap them; therefore you are not at fault. You did your job. There was no way you could have escorted them to the plane, and even if you did wait around for their flight to take off you would have had no idea they were on there. You had no idea any of this would happen, so you cannot fault yourself for this,' I told her softly as she leaned into me. Gently, I put my arm around her. 'None of this is your fault,'

'How can you be so sure?'

'I've worked at Maui for over ten years. I started when I was fourteen. And when I was fourteen, everything bad that happened I blamed myself for because I wasn't doing enough. When you see the dark side of humanity, you'll realise you're never to be blamed for something bad like this happening, but it's the person doing the crime and them alone.' I told her softly and she sighed.

'I'm just so confused,' Sam told me softly. 'I just want my pupils back,'

'Of course you do love, you want them safe.'

'Yeah, and I can't help them,'

'You can, Sam, you can help them. That's why we are here, to try and find them. You are doing all you can to help them. You've never done something like this before, and now you are in order to try and find them. Even just you being at that meeting is helping them to come back home,' I told her softly, kissing the crown of her head.

'You have such a calming way with words,' Sam said softly.

'I think that's your gift playing around with me. I'm never normally like this,' I told her and she sat up.

'Shit, sorry, I thought I had it under control,'

'You have it under control; of course you do, but its okay if you slip out of it because it's the best gift ever. It's lovely. At least you're not like my sister, because when she doesn't have it under control she gets hypothermia,' I replied back.

'I met your sister yesterday,'

'Apologies for her,' l said and Sam shook her head.

'She was lovely,'

'That's a new one,' I joked around and she smiled, before both of us looked at the two children, who were now by one of the flowerbeds. Lily was sitting next to Nic, and Nic was pointing to the flowers in the flower bed. I smiled at them both.

'I think Nic likes Lily,'

'I think Lily likes Nic, too,' I relied back to her.

'Lily will be her first friend,' Sam told me sadly and I frowned at her. 'Well, she never went to daycare or anything when she was younger, she just stayed with me the entire time. She only started Reception this year, and she hasn't made any friends really. The boys in her class take the mick out of her for having a boy's name and she just sits by herself. I had hoped that she would make a friend, but so far nothing. Well, now she has Lily but she'll be going back to wherever she lives whenever you all go back,' Sam told me sadly.

'Yeah,' was all I could say?

'And Lily is her cousin,' Sam said and I grinned, realising she was finally accepting me as her father. Bless her.

'They always say your cousins are your first best friends,' I told her and she shrugged.

'I wouldn't know, I don't have any family,'

'You don't?'

'No, I was dumped here when I was four with no memories, not able to speak or walk and no return address either. Two of the staff here practically adopted me and managed to teach me to speak and walk and whatever and sent me to school here. Twenty years later, here I am,' Sam told me and my mouth dropped. 'Let me guess, you still have a wonderful family,'

'My immediate family died in a car crash when I was six, only me and Ella survived the whole thing,' I told her and she looked up at me. 'I was fostered by my aunt and Uncle, and Ella was adopted by another Uncle on the other side of the family. She only moved back to England from Colorado a few years ago after she met Joe and fell pregnant with the little one,' I told her, nodding to Lily.

'And a few months later, you knocked up someone and Nic was born,' Sam said and I sighed.

'Yeah,'

'Who?' Sam asked, adjusting how she was sitting to stare at me. 'The letter said I grew up with her but she left Blakeley at eighteen whilst I stayed on, but I have no idea who she is, I have no idea who Nic's real mum is,'

'You're Nic's real mum, we've been over this sweetheart,'

'No, who gave birth to her. Who trusted me so much they wanted me to raise their child and find you,' Sam protested back.

'Brooklyn Henderson,' I said and Sam's face froze for a moment before nodding.

'I, yeah I remember her. Quite small, skinny, brown hair,' Sam said, looking over at Nic. 'The splitting image of her. Apart from her eyes,' Sam looked straight back and me, sucking her lips before nodding. 'Makes sense. How is she doing?'

'She passed away a week or so I guess. She mentioned living somewhere that sounds extremely dodgy and she said they can have one dying wish, and hers was for me to get a letter telling me about Nic and trying to find her. I had no idea finding Nic would hand me my Soulfinder too,' I said softly and Sam leaned against me.

'How is this ever going to work?'

'We will work it out, Sam, I'm not letting go of you this quick.' I whispered to her, hugging her to my side. 'We'll work it out,' I muttered to her.

'Michael – I, oh, er, sorry,' Someone said behind me and I jumped, moving my arm from behind Sam's shoulders. I turned around, seeing Susan standing a few feet away from me slightly awkward. 'I just needed to speak to you for a moment,'

'Give me a moment,' I muttered to Sam and she nodded, sitting up slightly and keeping her eye on the two girls, who were still talking about flowers. I got up and walked over to Susan.

'Since when was that a thing, Mr. Evans?' Susan asked me, frowning at me.

'It's not a thing, not yet,' I told her and she simply looked at me. Having known me since we were little, and she had known my parents well too. She had known me since I was born, and we were close enough for me getting caught out here with Sam wasn't an embarrassing moment.

'Michael, she does have a child. This wouldn't just be a normal relat –'

'Susan, I know. Nic's my daughter. She's not Sam's child, Sam has been her appointed legal guardian for four years but she's my daughter,' I told Susan and her eyes widened.

'You have a daughter?' he asked.

'Yup,'

'And you never told us? Michael, you know the rules, you have to tell me about any children even if you decide not to be a part of their lives,'

'I didn't know I had a kid, Susan, I got a letter a few nights ago explaining that someone I used to work with, remember Brooklyn? She left quite a few years ago?' I saw the vacant expression on her face but carried on with the story, 'After Ella was found safe after the whole terrorist thing, and she got the all clear apart from the pregnancy obviously, we went down the pub. I was still incredibly pissed off with Joe because he knocked my sister up, but Brooklyn talked me out of killing him and persuaded me to give him a chance to make Ella happy. You can probably guess what happened that night. A few weeks later, she told me she was leaving Maui and getting transferred to Spain and then she didn't text me anymore, wouldn't pick up. Two nights ago, I got a letter saying she had our daughter, raised her for a few months and then handed her over to someone she could trust with her life. Her dying wish wherever he stayed was for me to get a letter explaining our daughter,' I explained to Susan whilst she just watched Nic.

'You believe this letter?

'I checked Nic's DNA, she's mine,' I whispered in return.

'You used your gift on a child? Michael, you know Ella would be unhappy with you.'

'She always uses her gifts on Lils and Charlie.'

'To make ice creams, not to examine their DNA,' Susan protested.

'Enough about Ella, Nic is my daughter and it's my choice now, and the same goes for Sam too.' I told her, and realised I was willing to fight for Nic. And for Sam. I was in that split second ready to fight for my girls.

'I knew about the letter, Michael, and I knew about Nic. Ella filled me in, just in case you needed time off to work it all out, the exact same as what you did for her. I just wanted to see if you were ready for the job,' Susan said softly. 'You'll be an amazing parent for Nicole, Michael, both me and Ella think that. I think I may have come up with a solution for all of this, I'll explain it in five minutes, so if you wouldn't mind rounding up the kids and getting your arse, and Sam, back into that meeting room that would be splendid,'

And with that, Susan turned back around and wandered back into the school building as I wondered what had just happened. Susan knew about Nic? Ella told her? I was going to kill that blonde sister of mine for telling Susan – it wasn't her place to tell. However, I did tell Susan entirely about Ella being pregnant through a one night stand and ranted to her about how I was going to murder Joe if he so much as touches my sister again. Susan sat there and listen to me rant for over fourty minutes before I calmed down, walked out and went down the pub with Brooklyn to have the exact same rant. To say I was happy with Ella for getting pregnant before her 21st birthday was an understatement, and to be with the guy who was known for being an asshole too.

'What was that about?' I heard someone behind me and I turned around, immediately wrapped my arms around Sam who had stood up silently and crept up behind me. She frowned slightly, before I kissed her softly. 'What's got into you?' She whispered to me as I brushed a strand of loose hair which had fallen out of her bun to the side.

'I don't want to leave you,' I whispered to her.

'How will this be able to work, Michael? I can't leave Blakeley, and you can't leave Maui either,' Sam whispered to me.

'We'll work it, Sam,' I told her gently. 'I don't want to lose you,'

'I don't want to lose you either,' Sam gently whispered to me, leaning into my chest and I hugged her tight, taking in everything I didn't have yesterday. When Ella had tried to explain to me how odd the whole Soulfinder thing was, in all honesty I thought it was cringy and she was lying. She had told me how it happened in a matter of hours, that she hated Joe, but was coming around on the idea of him but when he found out, it happened in the space of four hours. They had gone from arguing on a beach to sharing the same bed and Ella said she knew in that second she never wanted to be alone and she wanted him. I had never thought I would feel the same and so quickly, but we were disproving a lot of things today.

'You won't lose me, Sam, I'm not going anywhere,' I muttered to her.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

'So within the small break we just had I had been calling some contacts, and speaking to some of my colleagues; Ella who helped support my idea and Michael who concreted the need for this idea even though both of them didn't know the plan to start with, and of course Jason and Lucy, who suggested the idea,' Susan began the meeting again after we came back in and took our assigned seats, and I didn't miss the sideways glares I got from both Ella and Joe as I came back in with a very happy Lily. They knew there was a reason I was happy and whilst both of them could guess I don't think either of them knew.

'Over the past two years, we had been building another academy school, noticing that Blakeley's pupils were going up and the class sizes were increasing to full capacity which meant the teaching staff was starting to suffer with a heavy work load.' Susan said and I frowned at her. When did this all happen? I had never been told about this. I looked over at Ella where she was frowning as well. Considering we had "supported and concreted" this idea, we were both clueless as to what it is.

'It's about an hour away from Maui, in Frimley,' Susan said, 'It might take a week or so to get it accessible for students, it just needs some paint and furniture but it will be perfect for now for the students who would be at risk of going missing.' Susan explained.

'How will we know who's safe and who's not?' Lucy asked.

'We would separate students from those who are in the age range of the five missing pupils, place them at Frimley sight which is still an unknown quantity even for Maui staff, and then whenever a pupil goes home, we'll use the fleet at Maui to make sure they get home safely. Of course, this is a temporary solution until we find whom is responsible for the students kidnap and put them behind bars, but the Frimley campus will open next September,'

'I think that is the best option for now, Susan,' Headmistress retorted.

 _Did you know about the Frimley campus?_

 _No,_ I replied to Sam's question and she frowned.

 _Is Frimley closed to you?_

 _Half an hour, if that._ I told her and she smiled gently.

'All you would need to do is to see what staff needs to be moved, covering one for each subject at the very minimum, move all but three cover teachers to continue the level of education there, and all students will stay on site and won't be able to leave unless under escort from either a member of staff or a Maui member of staff. We will also send Maui staff up every day for added security, too,' Susan explained.

'So you want to move every fourteen to seventeen year old?' Headmistress asked in slight shock.

'Everyone in year nine up needs to be moved to Frimley, correct.' Susan said.

'That's around seven hundred students,'

'It shouldn't be disruptive to their learning, as it's beginning of the school year.' Susan testified. 'We will take some members of staff with us, those who specify in subjects only available to older students to help set up,' Susan said.

'Sam, would you be willing to go?' Headmistress asked her and she looked shocked.

'I won't leave Nic behind,'

'You might have too, Sam,' Headmistress told her softly.

'Nic will come as well,' I argued back, and Sam smiled softly.

'Yeah, she can stay with me and Lily during the day if you don't want her on campus,' Ella argued back and I smiled slightly at Ella.

'Or me, I don't mind either,' Lucy added.

'And if none of those are viable options, she's more than welcome on Maui base too, we have full day care facilities where she'll be looked after, and we'll drop her back to wherever Sam decides to stay when she's finished the day too.' Susan told her.

'Are you sure?' Headmistress asked. 'This could be putting Nic at more risk, Sam,'

'Would it?' Sam whispered.

'I don't believe it would be putting Nic at more risk, Headmistress, nor can I see any viable reason for you to be saying this. We have just established the risk age was between fourteen and seventeen, not four.' I protested back.

'A move for a kid that young, to conform to the Maui guidelines, would have to have a valid signature from two parents of guardians. She only has one, the second being myself. I would refuse to sign the paperwork,' Headmistress argued back. 'For Nic's sake,'

'The guidelines state that if one guardian refuses to sign for a kid of adopted heritage, that a signature can be overruled if biological family, included extended, would gain two or more support. She would need two family to sign for her, to allow the move,' Ella pointed out and looked over at me with a smug smile.

'As her biological father, I would sign for her,'

'And as her aunt, I would too,' Ella said as well. 'And if a third was needed, Joe would too. Or Xav, who's been strangely quiet for this entire meeting,' She said across the table, where I didn't even notice him. I thought he had left.

'I'm not entirely sure why I am here,' Xav just shrugged.

'So, your signature has been overruled,' Ella argued back.

'You would need to prove you are her family,' The headmistress argued back with me, but I just shrugged.

'We'll do genetic tests, it doesn't bother us,' I said back. 'My daughter is coming to Frimley with her mother,'


	17. Chapter 16 - Michael

Chapter 16 – Michael

 ** _The next morning_**

I woke up at the usual time of half three, frowning slightly at the odd room I was back in. After doing saliva tests and drawing blood to be sent back to Maui for genetic examinations, and trying to explain to Nic why we were doing them as well, Sam was given the day off to work out the best way to move to Frimley. She didn't have a lot of stuff, but she would want to bring a few bits. I had been hesitant with the idea of asking her to stay with me, and bringing Nic along too, because of the sheer commitment it would seem. That night, I had stayed with Sam and Nic, sitting on the sofa as Nic watched some kids TV programme and I was more than happy to watch over both Nic and Sam, both of them under one of my arms. Sam seemed so calm and tranquil, laying into me as she watched TV. She was just stunning and I don't think she even noticed – her long hair down to her waist which was just so incredibly soft and her ice blue eyes. And she was my Soulfinder. And Nic was happily sat in the seat next to me, curled up with her favourite toy rabbit on her lap, happily fiddling with it as she watched TV. We sat there in comfortable silence until half ten; by this point I had put Nic on my lap as she fell asleep laying into my chest and Sam too had fallen asleep curled into me. Gently, I left Sam asleep on the sofa as I tucked her into bed, having to pause for a moment as I felt a weight lifted from me. If this is what fatherhood was, I could do this. I could totally do this. I then walked quietly back to the sofa, picked up Sam and carried her into bed too, but laid down next to her. She surfaced slightly, curling back into me before I settled down too.

Now, I could see Sam still fast asleep lying on my shoulder and I smiled at her. I could do this.

'You're awake!'

I jumped completely when I heard a voice and immediately looked over. Nic was standing beside my side of the bed grinning up at me.

'Nic, what are you doing?' I whispered to her.

'I thought it was cloud time but it's not,' Nic whispered. Sighing slightly, I held my arm out to her and noticed her toothy-grin as she climbed into bed, lying mostly on my chest but in between the gap as well.

'Go back to sleep,' I whispered to Nic, pulling the duvet up to cover both of us as she curled into me and Sam. She nodded slightly, pressing her eyes closed and after a few minute, she was asleep with the speed that only a young child could muster. I realised with a slight sigh of happiness, that this was my new family. Previously, I only had Ella, Joe and their two kids to call my family, but literally overnight I had gained my Soulfinder and a daughter. And soon, they were coming back to where I lived. Whilst I wasn't sure if they would want to stay with me – and if they did I had to get my home back into order – or they'd be staying on campus at this new Frimley building no one knew about – but I would get to see them a Hell of a lot more. I had to make it up to them. Sam had single handily raised my child, a job I neglected even though I didn't know I had a daughter. She had no idea why they left the baby with her, but with she just took it in her stride, and with no more questions asked she accepted Nic as a daughter. And with Nic, I let her grow up without knowing me. I never heard her first word saw her take her first step or spoilt her at Christmas and I would have to live knowing I let her out of my grips, but I didn't want to miss any more time with my daughter. I had given her up once before, and I wouldn't do that again.

My phone vibrated, and I kinetically moved it over to me, grabbing it in mid air, before unlocking my phone. I frowned, wondering who the hell would email me at this time in the morning before seeing Susan's Maui email address, and opened it straight away.

 _Hi Michael,_

 _Apologies for the early email, I understand that this may wake you up but I hope I haven't woken up Nic or Sam. However, I thought you would want to know the results of the genetic tests. We had them rushed through for you and they have come back positive. You are Nicole's Dad. Of course, since we now have that on record you get all the perks of paternity. Also, under Ella's demand, you also have the next two weeks off to enable you to get ready for Nic to come home, and to stay with her as well for the week after. My sincere congratulations go out to you, Sam and of course Nicole, who we will welcome fully into Maui like we have all the other kids and partners in the last five years._

 _However, the reason I am emailing you, and other staff, this early was to confirm that two days ago, during the period that you all were at the barbeque, another student under the name Oliver "Oli" Hughes, has gone missing. His dorm mate, Neil, has told the Headmistress that he went to return home but didn't want staff to know. Neil urged Oliver to tell Sam where he was going, but he left anyway and climbed over the fence at Blakeley. He didn't make it to the airport. We are looking into his disappearance back at base, but this solidifies the need to get pupils over to the Frimley base._

 _Susan xx_

I sighed as I put my phone back on charge and immediately hugging my two girls slightly tighter. They were my new family. Nic was my daughter, genetically. Whilst I was more than slightly heartbroken that I didn't get to do the whole pregnancy thing that I envied when watching Ella and Joe. I saw their anticipation for every scan, the way they would hold their photocopy. The book reading, the sleepless nights, the name games, the buying baby clothes and the wait – I was so excited for them but I wanted to do that. And even after Lily was born, the (even more) sleepless nights, the changed and the cuddles, the cute baby noises, and then teaching her how to walk and how to talk. I wanted that. I love Nic, and I look forward to going to the school plays, helping with homework and everything else but I regretted not doing the whole baby part. Perhaps in the future, Sam would be willing to have her own baby with me. I wouldn't straight up ask her, I learnt that lesson from Joe. But perhaps one day, she'll come around on the idea. However, as I had Sam curled up on my chest, my hand on her waist. Nic was mainly on the chest too, but was half in the gap between our legs, slightly snoring; I knew I couldn't think too much ahead. There was bigger, more pressing issues going on as we speak.

Another student had disappeared when we were all down the beach. Were we to blame? We wouldn't blame ourselves, though, but why the student just ran out and climbed over the wall would be the really big mystery.

'Michael?' I heard and jumped slightly, looking down at Sam. She had just woken up, rubbing her eyes gently before frowning up at me. I did notice her arm go immediately around Nic, resting her hand on my chest. 'What's happened?'

'Nothing,' I whispered, putting my phone back on the cabinet and hugging my girls a bit tighter.

'I know you're lying, I filter emotions. I know you're upset. What's happened?' Sam asked softly, 'Are you not her father?' Sam asked with fear latched onto my voice. I sighed, realising I couldn't lie to her.

'I got an email from Susan, the tests came back positive, I am her Dad,' I told her softly and Sam grinned at me, before gently kissing me. She was a lot more welcome to me early in the morning and late at night than she was during the day.

'That's brilliant, Michael!' She whispered to me.

'Yeah, it is,'

'So you can get her to come to Frimley with me?'

'Yeah,' I muttered down to her and she hugged me a bit tighter, kissing my chest.

'Thank you, Michael, thank you so much,' Sam muttered and I squeezed her arm.

'Anything for you, and Nic too,' I muttered.

'Why are you so sad?' She asked me. 'Isn't this what you wanted?'

'Of course it is, you knew how much I wanted this. It's... another students gone missing,' I told her softly and she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. 'Oli Hughes?'

'Oh God, he was in my classes.' Sam said as I wiped away a tear. 'What happened?'

'The night of the barbeque, he packed his bag and left refusing to tell anyone. He climbed over the wall but never made it to check it. They're investigating everything now,' I whispered to her before hugging her tight. 'Don't cry,'

'Its my fault, I should have been there,'

'Are you the ones kidnapping the kids?'

'No of course not!'

'Then it's not your fault,' I whispered to her. 'None of this is your fault, Sam, this was not your doing,' I told her and she just lay on my chest gently sobbing. It took her another fifteen minutes to slowly calm down.

'So we're going to Frimley then?' She asked me softly.

'Yeah,' I muttered softly. There was no way I was letting her stay here with all of these kidnappings going on – they'd be a lot safer back at mine.

'Hmm,' Sam said softly.

'Why don't you come and stay with me when you're in Frimley? I mean, it'll a lot more nicer than staying on campus and you'd have space too.' I suggested. I heard Sam inhale slightly.

'Like, move in with you?' She asked. 'But, I don't have a car, how would I get to school?' She muttered.

'I'll give you and Nic a lift to school every day, I'll say I'll be security during the day and give you a lift back, and if you don't like living with me, you can move back here when all of this is over, or onto campus and I won't blame you,' I told her and she looked up at her, her face still damp from the tears and her eyes slightly red, but they were shining.

'You'd do that? For us?'

'Yeah, of course I would,' I protested, hugging her a bit tighter to my chest. Nic lay on my chest asleep, unaware of the conversation happening overhead. 'Is that a yes?' I asked and Sam nodded.

'You sure it's not too much?' Sam asked.

'Of course not, it'll be perfect,' I told her, holding her tight.

'You seem... happy,' Sam told me.

'I am happy, that's why,' I replied to her softly.

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 **A few days later**

'I think we're done,' Ella said coming out of the spare room in my house, kicking a towel on the floor as she wiped her paint covered hands on a pair of jogging bottoms. I frowned at her, thankful for her help but wondering what had taken Ella several hours to paint.

My suburban house in the outskirts of Windsor was a fairly good size – three bedrooms, not that I really had a need for that many bedrooms. Before Ella had met Joe, I had the slightly bigger bedroom, we had used it as Ella's room when she stayed over. Up until the moment she got evacuated, that was her bedroom. It had all the bits and bobs she left in England in. It was when she came back it got a bit more off. I kind of never let them stay in the spare room. I didn't want them to be doing all kinds of stuff in my house. But I kind of accepted that Joe and Ella were a thing, like a proper thing (even engaged) so I just let them do whatever they were doing in the first place and gave up trying to be protective. When Lily was born and a bit older, and she wanted to stay around mine or when I had to look after her because both Ella and Joe were needed, the spare room became my niece's room. However, now, thanks to Ella and Lucy, they've decorated it up between them for Nic to come home too. The only agreement was, whilst they were in the room together painting, I had to look after the two babies; Lucy's son Tyler and of course my nephew Charlie.

I had somewhat mastered how to deal with babies over the last week. Ella and Lucy were determined to get everything ready for Sam and Nic, trying to make it less stressful for the pair. I was due to drive down tomorrow, Friday night, to pick them back up again. We had called several times a day, as well as Skype at night too, and kept up a constant stream of Whatsapp messages. But my house was in need of decoration, and both of the girls used the whole situation to kick me up the arse to get my house in tip top shape. I had the week off, but my lack of skills when it came to decorating left me all hours with two babies who seemed to know when each other was waking up – so it wasn't settling one back down, but both of them. Thankfully, Charlie was quite a bit older than Tyler, so he seemed pretty chill the whole time. Tyler hadn't grown out of his new-born all hours up stage yet.

'Don't touch the walls, they're still wet,' Lucy said quietly, as she came out and wiped her hands on the towel Ella threw to her. Lucy was one of those people who have no confidence. Abused until the age of fifteen when she made her grand escape from her father's prison-like society which he called Kingdom, she didn't have a childhood. It took her years to recover, and even then it wasn't fully. She was always quiet, shy, and found it hard to talk to anyone that wasn't Jason. She got on well with Ella, but she was still extremely timid and found it extremely hard to ask for help. I think she also had an innate fear of men, who had been the ones abusing her, and Ella explained it's psychological as when she was a kid, it was always men who exploited her and he never had anyone who was nice male, and even now when she knows no one will harm her she can't help but hold back.

I frowned at the girls before Ella gestured to go in, and I can safely say I didn't expect what I saw on the walls. The girls in the last few hours had painted a full picture across three walls fully inspired by nature. On the left wall, there was a large field with the cast of Winnie the Pooh painted perfectly, leading onto the main wall was a wonderful wood – mimicking the Hundred Acre Woods, and it led onto the right wall where the window was. The fourth wall was a massive blackboard, with a low curved unit full of chalk and a board. My mouth dropped; it was incredible.

'Holy shit,' I said, 'It's incredible, thank you,' I said, hugging both of them. 'How the hell did you do this?'

'It's not finished yet, we need to put the waterproof coating on just in case Nicole has an accident,' Lucy said and I frowned at her. 'Not like that, in case she brings a storm in or, something, it seemed like a good idea at the time...' Lucy trailed off.

'That's a brilliant idea, thank you,' I told her and she smiled softly.

'I hope she'll like it,' Ella said biting her lip.

'She'll love it, Els, thank you. And thank you too, Luce,' I said softly and I suddenly got so excited when I realised that tomorrow, my daughter would come here. She would come home with me, with Sam too who agreed us staying in the same bed seemed okay for a trial and if not I'd make up the other spare room – I didn't want to make Sam uncomfortable – they'd be home. For the foreseeable future, this will be their new home.

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **I'm incredibly sorry this took a while, however even when checking it wasn't as long as I thought. However, a tiny rant coming up, this morning I woke up to six email notifications across two books and they weren't overly pleasant. All of them were something along the lines saying I didn't update to get attention and reviews, one even called for me to quit writing. I love reading people's reviews even when they're constructive feedback, however I got quite upset with these comments.**

 **If you were wondering why I hardly ever update, it's because of some quite dull reasons. I will never post a chapter until I have finished the one I'm writing at the moment; and there has to be an eight chapter gap between them (so today I finished Chapter 24, and the next chapter won't be up until Chapter 25 has finished) I don't know why there has to be such a gap but it just happens. Also, I have a 40 hour job in an office as a paid intern-like role for the ambulance service, and I have my own book coming out in the early part of next year (with a publishing company - so exciting) so it's fairly time consuming.**

 **I'm sorry if this was a bit of a rant, but it really did upset me this morning when I saw such negative reviews. I won't allow them onto the books because of how horrible they were and they were anonymous. I know there have been an abundance of negative/rude comments on other books, and not just mine, which is making me think it's a bit issue at the moment. I understand that there are a few older writers, like myself, but there are young writers too, most below sixteen who are receiving these comments. Please think about what you are commenting before you stick it in a review, especially telling someone to stop writing _because they don't update four times a week._**

 ** _Anyway,_ I love reading everyone reviews, and I beg that you don't stop the lovely reviews, however, please if you want to write something that's not all singing, please phrase it in a polite way, and not in the NSFW language I received at half five this morning. **

**Thank you all for everyone who had reviewed, and followed, and so on, and I hope you understand how much it means to me and this does not underestimate the power of good words.**

 **Nikki x**


	18. Chapter 17 - Sam

**Chapter 17 – Sam**

I stood in the middle of our flat, everything back to the standard setting of the room, waiting for Michael. I had got a text at half four this morning saying he was leaving his house and to give him four hours until he was at Blakeley, all of which he wouldn't be able to contract me. I was already up most of the night, worrying about everything being packed and if it would all go okay, or even if Nic would be comfortable being around Michael for so long. I was perfectly okay with it – the week he wasn't here was an incredibly hard week and I just wanted to be with him. The realisation hit me this morning. I love him. Not going to lie, I would rather had a lobotomy than admit it to him. Nic came out of nowhere to me, hugging me as she climbed onto my lap.

'I'm scared,' Nic whispered to me.

'So am I, little Nic,' I whispered to her.

'Have we got everything,' Nic asked me and I nodded. I had already gone through all the drawers and cupboards, moving everything else apart from the basics that were in here when we came in when Nic was only a small baby.

'Do you want to go through everything and check with me?' I asked her and she nodded. I picked her up, resting her on my hip, before standing up. Between us, we opened every single drawer, cupboard, looked under the bed and every small hole and crack making sure we left nothing. We were in the kitchen when I heard the front door open.

'Sam? Nic?' I heard Michael say and I put Nic down on the floor, and she ran out to greet him. I had to jog to keep up with the kid. Michael had let himself in, most likely assuming that no one was in the flat. I had only just made it out the room to see Nic launch herself at Michael, as he laughed, hugging her as he lost his balance, falling on his arse but never once did he let go of Nic. He hugged her tight, kissing her forehead as he laughed slightly.

'Careful, Nic,' He told her, but it was him who had injured himself. He quickly stood up, like it was no effort at all with Nic in his arms, before he put her on his shoulders. He then walked over to me, putting his arm around my waist as he pulled me in for a kiss. It was incredibly tender, but it felt brilliant and until that moment, I didn't realise how much I had wanted Michael over the last week. I didn't realise how lacking I felt until I was with him again, and now I feel incredibly complete. He was back to me again. My Soulfinder.

'How have you been doing?' He asked, and even though it had only been four hours, I knew the look in his eyes meant how have I been since he left me a week ago. And the answer wasn't good; I had been doing crap. I could only blame myself for Oliver's kidnapping because I was at the barbeque. If I had not gone, he might have spoken to me and I would have taken him to the airport and made sure he got on that god damn plane. But then, I wouldn't have found Michael was my Soulfinder, I would have continued to hate him because he got on well with Nic, and Nic would have been nowhere near as confident as she is now.

'I've been good,' I lied and he frowned at me. He knew I was lying, damn it.

'Nic, Ella's down by the cars, do you want to go and see her?' He asked, looking up to see her.

'Has she got the baby?'

'No, but she has got Lily,' Michael said, putting her down on the floor. She immediately perked up when she realised she could see her cousin again. Nic immediately ran out the door and down the corridor to the stair case at the end of the communal flats.

'Will she be safe?'

'Ella's in the lobby coming up to meet her, she'll be fine,' Michael said softly, checking over his shoulder to make sure Nic had gone. 'You haven't been okay have you?'

'All of these students have gone because I haven't been doing my job properly, Michael, I should have made sure they got on their flight because if I did we wouldn't be here,' I told him tearing up as he pulled me into his chest and hugged me tight.

'Sam, none of this happened because of you.'

'But if I did my job right...'

'Your job is to teach people, why you are even a chauffeur for student's I'll never know because that is the marshals jobs if you read up in the Blakeley handbook,' He told me and I frowned. Wait – the marshals are meant to be driving students to the airport, 'Yeah, not only driving but also giving advance notice for security that they'll be accompanying them to the boarding gate, this was never your job, Sam, you were filling in for the fat guy who hates me because I parked on his precious grass,'

I laughed slightly, my head slightly spinning but Michael's gentle rub of my lower back calmed me down dramatically.

'Okay, this isn't your fault. We will find those students, and we'll bring them back to Blakeley or back home, okay?' Michael said to me confidently.

'How can you be so certain?'

'It's what we do,' He told me.

'Okay, but have you ever been wrong,'

'Personally, only once,' Michael told me. 'And that was when I told Joe's brother there was no way Joe and Ella would get together, that wasn't about anything big, when it comes to things like this, I'm certain. Hell, if we can find twenty four girls who vanished under everyone's eyes in fourteen days, we can find these kids,'

'You're so confident,' I told him, which was weird because as far as I was aware, they had no headway of finding the students.

'I have no reason to doubt, come on love, let's get the car packed,'

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

About an hour and a half later, we had packed all of our belonging into two of the black Jeeps – the one Michael was driving was substantially less full than the one Ella was driving back to wherever Michael lived, as they left all the three back seats up to allow Nic some space to place her bags and whatever she wanted to do in the car on the four hour journey home. Ella, though, had managed to fold down two of the seats in the back as Lily was riding up front with her in her car seat, and our suitcases and boxes sat nicely between the two cars. With a sigh, I realised it was time to leave Blakeley, the place I had grown up. I had never even left the small town I lived by, and this would be my first time on main roads and not country roads.

'Sam!' I heard someone call and saw Tobias jog up to me, before pulling me into an embrace. 'I thought I missed you,'

'Even if you did, you'll see Monday?' I pointed out.

'Are you sure about this?' Tobias asked me quietly, looking over my shoulder to where Ella and Michael were talking as the girls ran around the field, hopefully wearing them out so we didn't have a long journey home. 'Moving in with him so quick?'

'Tobias,' I sighed, 'It just seems right. He's Nic's Dad, he's my Soulfinder,'

'That means squat all, Sam. If you don't want to do this, don't do it.'

'I do want to do this, Tobias,' I argued back. 'I'm just scared,'

'About what?'

'If it'll be too much for Nic,'

'Then move onto campus, Sam, not in with that creep,' He protested and I shoved him away when he tried to hug me.

'What is wrong with you, Tobias, you don't even know the guy!' My mouth dropped when I accounted for his bliss ignorance. How dare he just call Michael a creep because I wasn't going to be staying in the same block of flats on campus in Frimley that he was? Does he not realise how shallow and pathetic that was?

'I know him well enough to say that he's a creep and not good enough for you. Who just invites you to move in a week after moving? Not sane guys, Sam,'

'He's helping me out, he's giving both me and Nic a place to stay, he's given Nic a family – look how happy she is now she has a friend – and he's gone out of his way to make sure both of us are okay, what has got into you, why do you hate Michael?' I argued back.

'He's not good enough for you,' Tobias growled back.

'According to you, no one is good enough for me,' I spat back.

'I should be the one doing this, Sam, but you've been so blind for the last four years since she arrived,' Tobias admitted before his face dropped when he realised he revealed his biggest secret.

'What did you just say?' I asked.

'You always have been ignorant of what's in front of your eyes, for year all I've wanted is you, for us to be a thing, and when you said you wasn't ready for a relationship it was fine because I knew you needed space, but I knew you couldn't do the whole parent thing by yourself. I tried so hard to help, looking after Nic and looking after you too and not even a month after you said you'd never be ready for anything more than friendship I see you and Michael bumming each other at the barbeque, him carrying you bridal style and then you're moving in. Everyone thought it would be me and you, Sam,' Tobias said bitterly.

'I never...' I muttered but it became so blazing obvious I doubted my intelligence. He had been there always and there had been a look in his eyes, something that was so intense and I was stupid enough to think it was friendship.

'Of course you didn't, Sam, you never were able to put two and two together,' Tobias spat back at me. 'Don't even bother texting me when you're home safe with Prince Charming,' He said bitterly as he walked off and I could feel myself crumbling. I could only watch with stiff muscles as Tobias stormed back into the building, and I could hear the slam of the fire door all the way from the two parked cars, which were well over fifty foot from the building.

'Jeez, what was wrong with your bestie?' Michael came up behind me.

'Don't,' I whispered, my voice strained, as I looked up at Michael hoping he could see I didn't want to speak about it. Thankfully, he did, as he wrapped his arm around my waist, squeezing it in gentle affirmation that he was there.

'You ready to leave?' Michael asked softly.

I nodded, walking to the passenger side of the car. There was no one here for me to say goodbye too now. My only friend had been Tobias and now, there was no one. Nineteen years of education at Blakeley was being ended with my entire existence packed into two cars.

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The drive home was pretty uneventful; Nic had fallen asleep in the back once we joined the motorway and Michael and I had talked the entire time in hushed voices, not wanting to use telepathy as Ella could pick up on telepathic conversations even from a distance – and we wasn't too sure if she would be able to tune in when she was in a different car. Nor did we really want to tell them either. I had been so excited to go on motorways that I had begged Michael to explain how they work, but he didn't even question my lack of knowledge. Eventually, a good four hours later, we had started to go down smaller roads, some of which you could see Windsor castle from. Nic had woken up, amazed by the plantation and wildlife where Michael lived, and had been watching out the windows intently as he slowed the car down.

The house we pulled up outside, which I could only assume was Michael's was on the outskirts of a small village, with his house being at the end of the road, which lead to what looked like a massive woods up a steep wooden staircase. The house was extremely modern and looked spacious, with the garden recently done and most likely a new lick of paint to the outside, too.

'Well, welcome home,' Michael said softly and it just sounded adorable. I smiled at him.

'Look at all those trees,' Nic whispered softly, in awe of the woods.

'I'll take you into the woods tonight, Nic,' Michael told her and I saw her grin. 'So, want to get your stuff in, then?' Michael asked as he switched off the engine and got out the car. Slowly, I climbed out my side shaking off my dead leg. I had kept my phone on my lap the entire way home, waiting for an apology text from Tobias, but it never arrived. Looking over the car, I wondered why Michael was taking so long and I realise, he was helping Nic out of her child's seat in the back of the car. Not having a car for obvious reasons – everything was on campus and when I went out, everything I needed was a mere bus ride away – Nic didn't really need a car seat. Until now, and I completely forgot how to use one. Thankfully, Michael must have studied his parenthood book extremely well because he knew exactly what to do. He picked up Nic, putting her on his hip like he normally does before locking the key with a button. He chucked me his keys.

'It's the red key, let yourself in,' He said softly, as I walked down the slope to the front door. With shaking hands, I put the key in the door and twisted it nervously, but it just made a soft click as the lock withdrew itself, and the door pushed open.

It was clear that he had done some decoration as everything looked incredible; a wide hallway met us, with a small cabinet to the left and a crammed bookcase to the right. In front of us, after a long narrow hallway, it led to an open plan kitchen and there was doors either side of us.

'I might need a tour,' I whispered in awe and Michael laughed.

'Okay, so here,' He said, putting Nic down on the floor before heading to his right, 'is the study,' He said, before walking down the hallway into the kitchen. 'Kitchen, obviously,' He said, before gesturing to the left, 'utility room,' and then to the right, 'dining room,' and he was off again, down the small corridor to the open space and to the door that was on the left, 'living room,'

He jogged upstairs and I ran to catch up with him. Damn him and his peak physical fitness. That was so not fair. 'Bathroom is ahead of us there,' he gestured to a closed wooden door. 'Spare room, airing cupboard that holds the boiler,' The then walked down the hallway, gesturing to another closed door and a door with Venetian styled slats, 'this is our bedroom for now,' He said, opening the door on what looked like a large double bed and a very modern and adult room. 'There's an en-suite in there too, and then we have Nic's new room,'

He gestured to a white painted door and I hesitated. 'Go on,' He whispered as I opened the door and my mouth immediately dropped. On the walls was beautifully painted wood scenery with the Winnie the Pooh characters, with a bed in the middle, a blackboard as well for Nic and a chest full of toys that I had never really had time to get Nic. She was going to be so happy. I teared up.

'Michael,' I whispered as he pounced over to me, hugging me again as I cried. 'This is all, brilliant, thank you,'

'Anything for you, Sam,' He said so tenderly I may as well of just melted in his arm there and then.

'When did you get the time to paint this?' I asked.

'It was Ella and Lucy; I don't have the hand eye coordination to paint like this. Or the patience, really,'

'Your family did this for us?' I asked in shock. Was this what a family was? I never really had a family, apart from Aisha and Marc, but they were more caregivers. I owed them everything, but when I got older I don't think they wanted to see me that much. They were lovely to Nic but they just wanted to get their jobs done for the day and relax rather than have to deal with me. However, going into Michael's world which evolved around family took me by surprised. His little sister drove four hours with her five year old daughter to pick up my stuff to drive back down again. I didn't really know what it was like to have a family, but I guess this must be what it was. They redecorated Michael's entire house, including a wonderful feature wall and whiteboard for Nic off their own back.

'Yeah,' Michael shrugged, 'Do you think she'd like it?' He asked me softly.

'She'll love it,' I replied back, launching myself at him to hug him. He very quickly put his arms around me as my head was against his chest. Even the way he holds me now feels like home and like its second nature, like there was a part of his chest meant just for me and his hugs. There was something about his smell too – his washing power, his aftershave and something that was just him was so welcoming. I just wanted him close. I wanted him to always be there for me, and knowing he did all of this for perhaps a few weeks stay just tells me he is serious about this. I pulled away slightly as I looked into his eyes; a beautiful grey green colour that was just shining. Gently, he leaned down to kiss me, one arm holding me tight. And thank God he did, because otherwise I would have just melted. My legs went weak at even the faintest touch of his lips, and I moaned ever so slightly as I deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck pulling him in closer.

'Eh hem, stop making out in the bedroom please,' I heard a familiar voice call from downstairs and I pulled away slightly shocked. It wasn't Nic who had said that.

'I'm going to kill my Goddamn sister,' Michael muttered and I realised it was Ella who had called. She must have arrived with Lily in tow. That was why I could sense a lot more happiness in the house; especially around Nic as now she not only had a house, and her Dad, but also an extended family which included a cousin her age. I also put two and two together, as Ella was the girl who had arrived in the room the first day Maui arrived at Blakeley. She came into my classroom, and I had told her everything because I knew I could trust her. My biggest secret then was the hidden knowledge that Nic's dad was my Soulfinder. Now the world seemed a bit more complicated, because someone was kidnapping children and it was down to me not thinking to escort kids through to security – or at least it was partially down to that.

'Is she always this blunt?' I asked him softly.

'Oh, this is her toning it down,' Michael told me.

'This is her toning it down?' I repeated shocked.

'If she was comfortable around you, and us, she would have just walked up here and forced us apart,' Michael told me walking out of the room as I followed.

'She'd do that?' I asked shocked.

'Yeah, she doesn't care.' Michael said.

'Stop talking about me too,' She called up the stairs and I could hear Lily and Nic talking to each other in the living room, whereas Ella sounded a bit further away like she was calling from the kitchen. 'I bring food,'

'Oh, now she's talking,' Michael joked, gently taking my hand as he led me down the stairs and into the kitchen. Bags of fast food at on the work top, and I frowned at what it said on it. KFC. I had heard of the chain before but never had it. Blakeley provided all of your meals for you and even when you went to work for the day – like I did at the paediatric ward during my degree – they provide takeout meals for you so you'd never need to spend a penny on extra food. Or, if you wanted something else, you would have a supermarket card. They would never allow fast food.

'They would never allow fast food?' Michael asked in shock.

'Oh my, I didn't realise they were running a prison,' Ella joked.

'We've never really been allowed... well kids would sneak out too McDonalds but I never...' I muttered in embarrassment and Michael immediately stuck his leg out and kicked Ella.

'Apologise,' He immediately told her and she raised her eyebrow at him. There was a silent conversation going on – not telepathically –but just in the way they were looking at each either.

'Sorry, I didn't mean it in a harsh way. It's just slightly spicy chicken and chips, is that okay with you?' Ella said and Michael nodded once at her before moving to help her. I had to keep remembering they were brother and sister because the height difference was incredible; Ella was a few inches shorter than me at around five foot, but Michael was easily six foot four. Ella had straight blonde hair, whilst Michael's was a light brown. The only things that made it easy to identify the siblings were their freckles and their eyes and how they speak in the exact same way. They both had ruthless confidence but I sensed Ella's was more forced, her own self will pushing her outside her anxiety she grew up with, compared to Michael's who's confidence was just natural.

'Yeah, I guess,' I said slightly nervous.

'Well, the good news is Ella bought enough food to feed an army, so,' Michael joked.

'It was a long drive, I didn't know,' Ella protested, as she put the chips onto a plate, followed by some chicken. The smell was incredible and immediately set off my stomach when I realised I hadn't eaten in twenty four hours. The thought was immediately accompanied by feeling too awkward to ask Michael and Ella if they wouldn't mind cutting up the chicken for Nic as I didn't exactly trust her with knifes. She was incredibly clumsy, and trusting her with sharp objects was just a no go. Michael turned around and just nodded. God damn, I need to remember he can read my thoughts. He turned around and pulled a mock-approving face before nodding.

'Coke or lemonade?' Ella asked over her shoulder.

'Just put both on the table, Els,' Michael commented back and Ella shrugged.

'Yes boss,' Ella muttered.

The two continued to have friendly banter between them, and I wondered if that was a normal thing for brothers and sisters to do. I never had a sibling, of course, and always wondered how it worked. Were all siblings this close? Or as it because of the crash they had when they were kids? I wanted to ask but I assumed it was a sensitive subject, so I bit my tongue.

Eventually, they finished dishing up all the food with Michael cutting up Nic's chicken for her, and I noticed Ella had done the same for Lily which made me feel incredibly better. We had sat down, Nic to my left, and Michael on my right. Ella was next to Michael, opposite me, and Lily was beside Nic and Ella.

'KFC is the glue that holds idiots together,' Ella simply said, sitting cross legged on the chair.

'That's why you and Joe have it so often,' Michael teased back and Ella kicked him.

'I'd watch it, sunshine,' she joked.

'Hey, not my fault Mr. Perfect has some flaws,' Michael said and I knew he was joking with her as he grinned as she narrowed her eyes at him.

'I brought you chicken and here you are,' She shook her head before suddenly realising I was watching them. 'You alright Sam?'

'Er yeah, it's just... is this how all siblings acts?' I asked, admiring the two.

'Some, but we've had years of not talking and bitterness between us when we were younger,' Michael explained to me softly and I frowned, but I didn't want to bring it up at the dinner table and especially not around two kids. But when I went to check on Nic and Lily, they were still with each other, laughing about something. I realised slightly shocked that they were speaking telepathically and started to panic, but I also knew Ella could hear telepathically so if anything happened, she would be on hand.

'I was eight and in Colorado, not my fault,' She simply said.

'You could have called me, that's all I'm saying,' Michael protested. 'Or when you was eleven,'

'Saul did try and call you several times, but your number had changed.' Ella said, shrugging. 'Look, come on, we've been over this. Don't bring it up with the kids around,' and with that, Michael dropped the conversation but I was left wondering what the one bitter topic between them was about, and how I managed to bring it up accidently.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

That night, I brought Nic up to bed, sitting next to her on the floor next to her new bed. Michael had gone to have a shower, so I could have some private time with Nic – not that she needed it. She was happier than I had ever seen her. I had asked Michael to take her into the woods next to his house as I wanted to unpack everything but I was left wondering if I had done the right thing and stewing over the argument I had with Tobias. Had I done the right thing? I'm certain I did but there was this niggling feeling that everything would have been better if I never met Michael, never found out he was Nic's dad, and never found he was my Soulfinder either.

'How are you taking this all, Nic?' I asked her quietly.

'I like it,' She whispered sleepily, hugging her bunny to her chest. 'I like Daddy, do you?'

'I like him, yeah,' I whispered back, not fazed when she called him Daddy.

'Good,' She said conclusively.

'Do you like it here too?'

'Ya, the woods were so big, Sammy, and there were ducks! I love ducks, and, and, we went to the other side of the woods and Daddy went into a shop and brought you something, and my room is so big and I can draw, and you and Daddy can be together and that will make you my Mummy!' Nic said to me happily and I wanted her to know the world wasn't that clean cut but I couldn't break her heart like that. I just smiled tightly.

'Go to sleep now, Nic, it's been a long day for us both,' I told her, getting up and kissing her forehead.

'Night, Mummy,' Nic whispered and I hesitated.

'Night, Nic,' I said and I noticed her small cheeky grin as I walked out the room, for the first time not bothering to argue with her when she called me Mummy. Was it just me being too shattered to argue with her, or was I starting to realise that it wasn't that much of a big deal. I had always thought it was huge, but I had filled the shoes for the role. If it made Sam happy, why wouldn't I? So many kids, whose parents go through divorce and get a new step parent, or even through adoption, they call their new guardians Mum, so why should this be any different? It felt foreign, the entire concept, but perhaps it was good? She had started calling Michael "Dad" and I accepted it fine. If anything, I approved of it. It was adorable. And I knew Michael was a brilliant father figure already.

I crept out of Nic's bedroom, pulling her door half too, enough so it will still remain light in the bedroom as she likes but not so much it's the there was a thousand's sun's power in her room, and the second I turned around, I jumped out of my skin. Michael had crept up behind me – or had been there the entire time – and I just looked down at him slightly. He was in just a pair of snug fitting boxers and well, that was it. His hair was still damp from his shower, going in every which direction but he pulled off the unkempt look. And holy shit you could tell he worked out.

I needed to keep my eyes up. Come on Sam; ignore his manly display of muscles and so much more.

'All okay?' Michael asked me softly and I nodded not quite trusting my voice. 'Nic's fine with everything,'

I made a nonchalant sound in the back of my throat, pretending to be completely chill. Keep your eyes up Sam. It's just a display of muscles, legs and a very nice... wow. I tried to breathe. If being a secret agent didn't work out for Michael, I'm sure he could be an underwear model. Yeah, that'd get even me buying Calvin Klein's.

'And you're... okay too?' He asked and I nodded again. 'Have you lost your voice?'

'No,' I said but it ended up a squeak. Oh, that's so embarrassing. Michael just grinned at me, before wrapping his arms around me and hugging me tight. He picked me up and sat me on top of one of the small bookcases at the top of the stairs before kissing my forehead.

'What's up?'

'Nothing,' I muttered back and he just looked at me. He knew I was lying damn it. How did I tell him that it was just because he was beautiful and I wanted to frame him and hang him in a glass tank above the fireplace so I could always see him in all his fineness for the rest of existence?

'With your words, Sam, that's how you tell me,' Michael joked and I blushed realising he can read my thoughts. 'You can hang me in a glass tank in my own house, but that's so rude,' He joked as I leant against his chest completely embarrassed but he put his arms around me, pulling me in closer. 'Don't be embarrassed, Sam, I was joking,'

'Why do you have to read my mind all the time,' I asked him.

'I wish I could control it,' He replied and I just smiled slightly. Yeah, same on this side really. 'Do you want to go to bed now? You must be shattered.' He whispered softly. I had been dying to go to sleep from about half five, when Ella and Lily left, but I didn't want to seem too weak. It had just gone nine by the time Nic had got ready for bed, unpacking her last bag to find her toys and it felt like I was trying to prop my eyes open up with anything.

'A bit,' I whispered as Michael suddenly picked me up. 'What are you doing?' I squealed.

'Carrying you to bed? Personally, I thought that was pretty obvious,' He laughed as I continued to kick out against him in a joking manner before he dumped me on the bed, slightly climbing over me slightly as he kissed me again.

'What's got into you?' I asked. My God, everything looks better when you're looking down at it.

'Calm down,' Michael said, resting one of his hands on my hip, gently rubbing in circles. He gently kissed me again, before his hands went to play with the bottom hem of my vest top. Oh my God. 'I thought you wanted to go to bed?' He whispered to me as my hand toyed with the elastic strap at the top of his boxers.

'Maybe not anymore,' I muttered, avoiding eye contact.

'That's so naughty, Nic is just through that wall,' He shook his head at me in a mocking gesture as he dropped next to me, rolling onto his side and his hand trailed my hip. 'Just through there,' Michael gestured to the wall behind us.

'She's asleep,' I muttered, looking at him in the eyes.

'She went to bed like three minutes ago,' Michael added.

'She falls asleep pretty quick,' I protested back and he frowned before shaking his head at me.

'You're a terrible influence, you know that?' He muttered, kissing me as I pulled him closer.

* * *

 **Hello again!**

 **Thank you all for the kind reviews and the messages, it really does mean a lot to me :)**

 **In regards to my own book, I got in trouble for saying that as apparently it wasn't meant to be announced yet. I had a mildly irritated phone call after that - Sorry, Nakita/Nakita's daughter who reads this and told her Mum - but when the time comes I'll be able to tell you more.**

 **But thank you so much everyone! Also, sorry, this chapters a bit long but it's leading up to the important stuff! After this chapter, nothing will quite be the same again.**


	19. Chapter 18 - Sam

**Chapter 18 – Sam**

 _Three weeks later, end of October._

Everything had gone fine to my relief. Nic had settled down fine into Michael's house and so had I and I could feel our relationship blossoming perfectly. Even if it was in the way that he holds me at night, sits down to help me mark the books from Frimley, cooks me dinner or takes Nic to the woods after school rather than in the morning, I realised how important he had come to me and why I wanted to leave him when I first met him I will never know.

The move to Frimley had gone well, the Monday after I moved down to Michael's house led to twelve coaches heading onto Blakeley sight, picking up the students and their luggage, before driving down to Frimley. I had asked Michael to drive me down to the Frimley sight to set up, and sure enough he stayed with me the entire time. He had helped me get everything moved in and even helped me with the notice boards, which seemed like a term-annual job for me but must have bored the shit out of Mr. Secret Agent, but he still stayed with me, before sitting down with Nic to help her paint whilst I finished marking all the exam papers I had been sent. I got so into marking the 80 papers I had been sent, when I looked up and saw Michael making paper Mache faces around balloons, sitting opposite Nic at the small tables. He did look quite disproportional, but it made my heart melt.

The week after the transition, he went back to work, but it just meant he had to wear uniform to Frimley rather than just a shirt and jeans like he used to. The kids seemed to get on better with Nic now, especially as Michael joined her to her reception class, who was made up of sibling children of those who had moved to Frimley, for a while to make sure everything was okay. She came home so happy now, and willingly spoke about her days. She had even asked for some of her friends to come around during the October half term. I was so incredibly happy that it has all worked out.

It had come down to the last day of term, and only one more student had gone missing from Blakeley in the process of being moved, bringing the total to seven students going missing. Michael didn't want to tell me too much but he had confirmed that there was substantial work going on trying to track down the missing pupils. But since the Frimley campus had opened, it seemed a lot safer and students were happier knowing how much security they had on board. Not only that, Ella and Joe had transferred Lily to the nursery at Blakeley, so now not only did Nic had Michael around, but also had her cousin slash best friend with her as well.

I walked up behind Michael, where he was standing at oven cooking us dinner and wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt his hand on my arm.

'You okay there?' Michael asked softly as he fried the chicken we were having for chicken tonight. Like a wonderful boyfriend he was, and the brilliant father to Michael, he had made two different dinners; we were having barbeque chicken wraps, and Nic was having her favourite chicken pieces and chips.

'Yeah,' I replied, laying my head against his back.

'You just wanted to hug me?' Michael asked.

'Yeah,' I repeated and he rubbed my arm.

He sighed slightly, but continued to rub my arm ever so softly. We had yet to discuss what would happen when this case was over. He would want me to stay here, but would I be able to stay here? I felt so shitty knowing I wasn't really helping at all; all I did was work, come home, and sleep really. I didn't even do that much work compared to Michael, who was up at stupid hours to make sure everyone at Blakeley was safe, sending emails and working on about seventeen different cases at the same time – that was as well as balancing a normal life. How he did it was incredible, however, it does explain why they get paid very well. It's because they never stop working. I wondered how Ella, who was the exact same role as Michael does it when she has a baby to deal with as well.

'She has Joe,' Michael told me.

'Stop listening to my thoughts,' I told him and whilst I couldn't see, I knew he was smiling.

'You need to have stronger shields,' He told me, 'It's the reason I haven't taken you to Maui yet, there are guys who would crawl in your mind like flies on fresh meat in summer,'

'You'd stop them?' I asked lightly. It was true – Michael hadn't bothered taking me into Maui, and I knew there was a reason but I assumed it was to do with trust or something. I hadn't assumed it was because he didn't trust the guys at Maui to not go into my mind.

'I'd kill them,' Michael simply said. I don't think it was a lie either. Oh. 'Some of the guys who works there are cave men. There aren't many females who are young there. Ella was the first one really who changed the way Maui worked. Ten year or so ago, it used to be strictly males, apart from Susan obviously, because they just seemed more capable of doing the work. And then they hired me when I was fourteen, and Ella came with me and she kicked everyone's ass, she completed all the physical tests like he had done it every day since she was born, and since then it's been more gender neutral, but it doesn't stop the testosterone charged one trying to hit on everyone,'

'I don't think I want to go anymore,' I said and he turned around to hug me properly.

'I'll protect you,' He simply said.

'But don't kids go there?'

'There's only a handful of kids; they never really allowed kid on base until Lily, and then Jake used to bring in the twins. So really, it's just the upper circle that can bring in their kids, like Nic could go if she wanted too,' He explained.

'There isn't really much for her to do, though, is there?'

'There's a soft play area, children facilities –'

'But why is there if children weren't allowed?' I shot back and Michael nodded.

'Well picked up, it was added because there are always a few crimes that involved children one way or another, so even if it's their parents who's come in, they can bring their children in and have them looked after as we question them. It's always about putting the victim first and keeping them safe, and it that means looking after their child whilst we attempt to help them, we will willingly do it. We always have two nursery workers on site, who will cop in and do the paperwork when there is no one for them to look after,'

'Jesus, Maui has it all,' I sighed, never realising how complex the whole building was. I just assumed it was an eighties building with loads of wooden desks in cubicles and annoying ring tones. I didn't assume it would be a modern building with fast food and coffee shops, and a staffed nursery. 'Shame about the creeps,' I muttered.

'I won't let them anywhere near you,' He told me defensively, pulling me into a kiss. He wasn't lying. I could tell that he wasn't lying – he would genuinely kill anyone who would put me at risk or start chatting me up. I had yet to tell him about the argument I had with Tobias, because it had only proceeded to get worse.

The day after we moved, Tobias blanked my existence when I was with Michael, and he kept walking past my room without saying anything – something he never did. He always used to pop in whenever he could to talk to me or even check if I was okay, but not this time.

When Michael had to go back to work, Tobias found me in the lunch break and pulled me to one side. I had hoped for an apology, or even an explanation for his irrational mood but that was not what happened. Instead, he told me I was the reason all the kids had gone missing; me and my selfishness. I had proceeded to then rub salt into the wounds of those who knew the missing by using the whole thing to have a fling with one of the most "desired" guys within the Savant community, who was known for his lack of commitment to partners of his. He accused me of wanting him for money, or for status. He then said I was pathetic for even thinking that he was my Soulfinder and I was caught up in delusion and control. He said I was cruel to Nic for feeding her the fairytales I wanted to believe about Michael – ouch.

'He said what?' Michael growled and I moaned slightly. Of course he can read my thoughts. He did tell me to put up shields but I forgot – so he had full access to my thoughts.

'Nothing,' I said, letting go of him to make an attempt to walk into the lounge.

'He said that to you?' he asked. Michael was seething.

'He was just concerned,'

'He was a complete dickhead to you and you just let him walk all over you without saying anything?' Michael asked in shock. It hurt, the crude blunt tone he was using towards me and I flinched. Michael had always been so sweet and soft talking that the moment he sounded slightly bitter it caused me to panic. He was never like this. I yanked my arm back from his grip.

'Michael, leave it,' I almost begged him but he just frowned, and I could feel him digging in my brain.

'How can I?' He snapped back. 'He's pissed you off big time, treated you like shit and you just expect me to leave it?'

'Michael!' I bit back and he just frowned at me. 'It's none of your business,'

I saw his jaw clench. 'How isn't this _my business,_ Sam? He upset you,'

'Oh yeah? And where have you been other times I've been upset in the past? And where have you been for the last four years of your daughter's life?' I snapped, before realising how bitter I still was. I turned away from him, so I didn't have to see his face, 'You were never there when I needed you most, when Nic was at her worst, and when I was at my lowest, but here you are now claiming moral high ground trying to protect me from an argument with a friend,'

'What's got into you Sam?' Michael asked softly.

'Nothing's got into me,' I replied, apart from the now concrete fear he was doing this for Nic, and not me. And he thought I his property – because perhaps he was doing me a favour and giving me somewhere to stay. And because he had ruined years of friendship between me and my best friend. I never wanted him here to ruin all of this.

But he didn't ruin it; my conscience told me - he made me feel like I was worth something, which I hadn't felt in years. He had taken me into his arms and was willing to put his entire life on hold for me and his daughter, and he spent all hours of the day trying to make sure we were safe. Hell, the amount of times he had drove over three hours just to come and see me and Nic on our lunch breaks was incredible. And he redid his entire house, made sure to always pack lunches for us and cook dinners without us even hinting. He has taken over Nic duties, which now meant taking her into the woods at dusk so she can play with her gifts in a more productive manner; tending to flowers and trees and helping wildlife, so I had time to relax. Not only that, he had also helped me keep on track with my workload from the school and cared for me when I could no longer be bothered. He had done so much for me and I was sulking like a spoiled baby the second I was in a bad mood. I turned back around to see him giving me a dark look and I realised he had only heard the former part of my internal monologue.

'This is all my fault then?' He asked with no emotions.

'Michael,' I said softly, going to apologise to him. God damn my gifts never being able to work on someone who was shielding so strongly.

'No, I understand, don't worry,' He sighed, walking over to the side and grabbing his car keys. 'You don't have to worry about me,'

'Michael, please,' I begged him. He was meant to go into work for a night shift, but he wasn't due to leave for another three hours.

'The food will be done in about ten minutes,' He nodded to the oven, where the chicken was still frying.

'Michael, just stay, please don't leave me,'

'You just said you didn't want me here so I'm leaving. Just, stick mine to one side, I don't care,' He said, pausing to put on a jacket. Nic came around the corner, hugging her rabbit and I knew she had overhead some of what was happening – and then she could put the dots together, she's not stupid.

'Daddy, please don't go,' Nic whispered almost silently and for a split second, Michael looked torn. He walked over towards Nic, crouching down to hug her.

'I'm just going to work, love, I'll be back in the morning like I normally am,' He told her ever so gently, hugging her tight. I smiled slightly but he looked over his shoulder, giving me such a dirty look that all emotions were sucked from me apart from stone dead fear of losing my Soulfinder because of a petty argument, which turned sour in my brain and he overheard. 'I love you, okay, Nic?' He said and she smiled sadly, nodding.

'I love you too,'

 _Michael, please,_ I pleaded to him telepathically.

 _You made it very clear that all of this was my fault, so I'm just going to go to work. I'll be back in the morning._ He replied calmly and lacking tone and I knew he was trying extremely hard not to snap at me.

 _I didn't mean it like that!_

 _You said I ruined years of friendship between you and Tobias, and that I'm snatching your daughter off you and I'm using you. I'm not entirely sure which other way you could mean that, Sam._ He told me as he put his shoes on.

 _I never meant for it to upset you,_

 _Well, you did a good job of upsetting me._ He told me and my heart broke. I had ruined everything. _I'll see you in the morning._ He told me matter of factly – there wasn't any emotion behind the statement, just a simple throw away comment. I watched in tears as he bent down again to give Nic a kiss, before simply looking at me and he was gone.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

That night, after I settled down into the lonely double bed, where normally I would have Michael to curl up into, I broke down. I had managed to keep it together for Nic's sake, convincing her nothing was wrong and her Dad had just been called into work early. She didn't entirely believe me but she had calmed down and I had managed to get her to go to bed. Not long after, I had called it a night but the second my head hit the pillow I was crying..

How did I manage to fuck it up so dramatically? Honestly, I didn't even mean the things I said. He was the best Dad in the world, and he had saved both Nic and myself from the dark horrors that would have awaited us if my mood had continued to spiral down like it would have. He just dropped all other life plans in order to make sure we were okay, and he had done everything I had never expected and then some and some angry thoughts I had – I never even voiced them, that's how much I didn't believe them – practically threw it all away.

I love Michael. I hadn't told him, scared the commitment was too much, but I love him. And now, he's sitting in his office at night, alone, thinking I hate him. I knew better than to even try telepathy. I found it hard to talk to someone down a corridor, let alone a forty five minute drive to the middle of Guildford. I rolled over and grabbed my phone from charge, sending him a text.

 _I'm sorry, Michael, I didn't mean anything I thought._ I sighed, before a few minutes later I sent another message. _You are a brilliant Dad, you didn't ruin anything and you're not using us either. It was just so irrational, Michael, you mean everything to us. Please come back, I just want to speak to you._

Nothing. I sent one last message. I could tell from his Whatsapp that he was online and had seen the messages, but he had yet to reply to them. He went back offline.

 _I love you._ I sent, lying in a pool of my own tears.

The window smashed, and I bolted out of bed looking for what had smashed the bedroom window. There was nothing I could see outside, apart from the yellow glow of lamp posts that was just enough to make a flickering light as the curtain were caught in the sudden tornado-like wind. I struggled out of the duvet I had straight-jacketed myself in when I was sulking when I realised that it must be Nic creating the sudden weather. She must know something is going on between me and Michael and had got distressed.

'Sammy!' I heard her yell, and immediately took off to her room, but the door slammed before I could even make it. I looked at the wooden door wild eyes, trying desperately to pull the door handle.

'Nic, just, come here,'

'Sammy! Help!' She called and my blood curdled.

 _Michael!_ I tried to plead but I knew he'd never hear me. I leaned back, putting my entire weight into trying to pull back the door, to run and to find my Nic from whatever horrors she was dreaming about but I couldn't. It wasn't the wind that was holding the door back – no, I could tell the wind was trying to help me. Nic was clearly bending the weather to try and let me find her – but something else was.

There was suddenly a hiss from something in bedroom, and the room started to fill up with a yellow misty cloud. I started choking, my eyes tearing us as I looked around, but I was lost in the smoke. I fell over something on the carpet – or was it just me losing my footing? – and I couldn't even tell if I was facing the carpet, wall or ceiling. My entire internal calibration was of and I couldn't put two and two together.

And then the yellow cloud started to fade to black as my eyes shut or my vision failed me, my lungs finding with the acrid mist forcing me into the pits of darkness whether it be death or just unconsciousness I would never know but I had prayed Michael would be here to save our daughter, even if it meant not saving me. I don't care if I would be destroyed by whatever is happening, as long as he was okay with Nic. That's all I wanted. I started to lose myself to the blackness, but something kept me alert just enough to hear a dark, crackling voice above my head.

'Oh, Sam, you're still not as smart as your sister. Hey, we tried. We'll see you soon,'


	20. Chapter 19 - Michael

**Chapter 19 – Michael**

Seething with anger, I sat in my office in darkness, staring at a pin prick of light on the whiteboard. I knew I shouldn't have walked out on Sam, and the situation, but I was just so disappointed and as sad as well that I had no choice. She had blamed me for the argument she had with Tobias before she left Blakeley – that would have been enough to upset me because at no point was I even involved with that. But she took it one step too far when she said she thought I owned her, and I was looking after Nic and she was like an add on item I had to deal with. And, to top it off, she admitted she never wanted me there.

'What's wrong with Mr. Grumpy Goo,' I heard someone say behind me, and jumped slightly. Ella had somehow snuck through the audio locks on my door and was standing behind me. I didn't know she was also meant to be in tonight; she was still on maternity leave after having Charlie but they called her in when they had major developments they wanted to discuss with her and her clear thinking ways.

'What's the development this time,' I asked her, trying to keep level headed as she walked around the other side of the table, throwing herself into the wood-and-padding chair, legs over the arms like normal as she frowned slightly, staring up at the lights. She frowned, and all the lights in the room came on at the same time and I winced against them. She sighed at my dramatic reaction, and used the dimmer to put them on half-light. That's what I felt like at the moment. I was still on a buzz of finding my Soulfinder and everything going to so well, and then of course finding my daughter in the same go, but after the argument, I couldn't be as happy as I normally as. I felt like Sam had stabbed me and taken a part of me with her when she accused me of doing half of those things.

'Big Brother has issues,' Ella simply said.

'What does that even mean?'

'You had an argument with Sam, and boof, here I am. I will be your relationship counsellor. The good news is I only charge £45 an hour, that's less than half price of one you can get on the high street,' Ella joked but I really wasn't in the mood. I pushed my chair back to leave. 'Sit down Michael,' Ella said and I did. She had inherited the tone from our mother that made simple statements like that authorities – I can remember a lot more about our parents before the crash than she can, but she was a toddler compared me. I was nearly seven when it happened, and there was only two years between me and Cameron, the next brother up, so we were always buddies up together whilst Ella was pretty much the baby of the family. I have memories of holding Ella when she was a baby and family meals whilst Ella can only remember what Mum and Dad looked like from photos I had shown her. She had no idea what she had inherited from our parents, but I could hear it in her voice and since she herself had become a mother, the similarities were so evident it was hard to miss. Our parents would be so proud of her. I had to question if they would be proud of me – having a child and not knowing she existed for four years, and the second my Soulfinder relationship took for an argument I stormed out like a kid.

'You shouldn't have bothered to come in,' I said to her.

'I shouldn't have to, no, but you have no bloody reason to have stormed out on your kid, which is why I am here. I am the angel you so desperately need in a situation like this,' She pretended to bow, still facing heavenly-wards and I knew she wasn't religious to even begin with.

'What does that mean?'

'You done something stupid, and you need a kick up the arse to realise you did something stupid before you do something else stupid,' Ella said before nodding to herself. 'Yeah, you are so stupid you are capable of doing that,'

'I'm fine, go home. Go play babies,' I told her, pretending to open up my laptop, but as soon as the screen was open, she closed it with her foot. God damn her flexibility. I forgot she had done dance for years in High School, and it meant that she could be sitting oddly on a chair whilst being able to stretch her leg to close the laptop.

'Go play babies or go make babies?'

'Ella!'

'What, I'm kidding!' She said, finally sitting in the chair normally, 'Or am I?'

'You're not being any help so just leave,'

'No, you were a dickhead to your daughter and an even bigger dickhead to Sam and you decided to solve this problem by, oh yeah, sulking in your room. You remember when Chris borrowed your drawing pencil for an art project and you got so annoyed that he took something that was yours you hid in your wardrobe for four hours until they were going to call the police because they thought you run away? This is the equivalent of that, but more... stupid.' Ella told me and I wondered how she remembered that.

It was a few months before the crash and our oldest brother, Christopher or Chris as he preferred, had a school project due in about volcano's and he borrowed with our parents' permission the pencils I had got from my birthday – watercolours, if i remember correctly. However, I found out and flipped, crawling to the back of the wardrobe and covering myself in the pile of clothes that were there. It was only when I heard Dad on the phone to the police I came out of hiding.

'You don't know what she thought,' I told my sister. She raised an eyebrow.

'Thought? She didn't say this stuff?'

'No,'

'Oh, so you might have just picked up some of what she thought and not the rest?'

'Perhaps,' I replied and realised with a sinking feeling what she meant. My gift, when I can read peoples thoughts, primarily focuses on the darker thoughts that not many people voice which is why it was so handy for my job. However, when it came to just being around normal people I only ever focused on the bad. And what Sam had said was bad, yes, but I didn't bother digging any deeper. If that was her dark thoughts, she might have been thinking something else.

'So you read her mind without her noticing, and you're sulking,'

'She said bad things,'

'Bless,' Ella pulled a mock sad face. 'You read her mind and you're claiming moral high ground here,'

'You weren't there,'

'No, I was there, and you slunked off like Lily does when you say she can't have more ice cream, you need to get it together Michael, you can't walk off every time something pisses you off, you get it? You couldn't do it if it was just Sam there, but Nic idolises you, and you just stormed out on her.' Ella started lecturing me but I frowned.

'Why were you in my house?'

'Joe told me you were going to be an asshole tonight, so I was making sure you weren't being an asshole to Sam or Nic. Oh but you were an asshole to Sam, saw you sulking off here and decided to follow you ,' she explained before leaning forward. 'You can't just sulk when something goes wrong Michael, she clearly didn't mean what she thought. She lost one of her best friends, not because of you, but she's upset about it. You tried to comfort her about it, but she clearly didn't want to talk about it. However you then went one step too far, saying he was walking over her and even when she asked you to leave it, you didn't,'

'I was trying to help,' I confessed to her and I could tell she was a bit more sympathetic.

'I know you were, but you didn't come across like that. I'm used to you being so blunt, Sam isn't bless her,'

'You didn't hear what she said to me, about Nic, about her,' I muttered back and that was the thing that had upset me the most. She had brought Nic into this quizzing me about where I was for her or Nic. And then I read her thoughts and I knew I couldn't stay there and continue the argument. I had to leave.

Ella sighed deep in thought. She shouldn't be here; she should be back at home, asleep, with her children and not here trying to talk me out of my bad mood in the middle of the night. She should be with the people who needed her – and not with me.

'You should be with the people who need you, and not here arguing with me,' Ella repeated. 'Yes, what Sam said was out of order; and whilst it wasn't in a sinister sense, it came across like it - however, you have to remember she's never had someone to stick up for her.'

'What do you mean?' I asked, confused.

'Well, she said she never really had any friends, she only had people she could talk too when she was like, teens, but because she lived at Blakeley she never had any real family, she always felt like she was lacking friends and family to hide her back. Tobias was really her only friend, and they never argued. Until now, and then you're here obviously having covered a lot of peoples backs and have been in more than your fair share of arguments, you've been exposed to violence. Sam hasn't. She's never witnessed anger and violence against her,'

'I wasn't violent toward her,' I added.

'No, but she doesn't know that. I know you wouldn't hurt a fly, but does she? She has a distorted view of Maui workers to start with, and she's admitted she is terrified of us; she's getting lines between protective and violent confused. She got scared, started trying to throw things at you to protect the only thing she's ever had, her daughter. You can't blame her for thing like this, she is just scared,'

'She upset me too, Ella,'

'Yeah, you upset her too,' Ella argued back. 'But not only did you storm out, you let her explain to Sam why you stormed off, left them to go to bed by themselves. Sam is probably terrified and God know what's state you left Nic in,'

'You think I shouldn't have left?'

'Of course you should never them, how stupid are you?' Ella protested.

I had started to realise what Ella was saying. I was stupid, impulsive. I shouldn't have left them. I shouldn't have argued with Sam, claiming that she was mine to look after. I should have tried to help her, cheer her up and not walk out as she begged me to stay. I shouldn't have got Nic involved, either. I wanted to help but I did the opposite. Ella even gave up her night to try and calm me down and talk me out of my stupidity.

My phone started to vibrate and Ella raised her eyebrow.

'I bet that's her,'

Ella leaned forward and grabbed my phone as I made no attempt to move it and unlocked it before sighing, reading the message out loud.

'It goes,"I'm sorry, Michael, I didn't mean anything I thought." And now you have her apologising for her own thought. Should I reply, "oh, sorry, my brother is a dick but you're in the right," oh, so tempting,' Ella said and I just sat there in silence.

She was right. Of course Ella was right. Sam and Nic were so important to me and I fucked it all up for them, I tried to help but I done it in such a douchey way that it made things thousands of times worse. My phone vibrated again, and Ella played the narrator.

'Ready? "You are a brilliant Dad, you didn't ruin anything and you're not using us either. It was just so irrational, Michael, you mean everything to us. Please come back, I just want to speak to you." See, now she wants to speak? Still going to be an asshole?'

'Just, close it down,' I muttered, grabbing my phone and locking it.

The phone vibrated again, and I quickly looked at it.

 _I love you._

'Thanks, El, I'm leaving now,' I said, grabbing my bag and walking out of the office. Ella jumped down behind me, jogging to catch up with me.

'And where are you going?' Ella asked.

'Home,'

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

I pulled up outside my house, noting the time. One in the morning. I had been gone for so long, leaving Sam and Nic at home. I pulled into the turning circle, parking my car up here rather than on the drive like most do. I sat in the car for a moment wondering how to apologise to Sam correctly. I had fucked it up big time. So much so, I dropped by a twenty four hour Asda and picked up a bouquet of flowers, and some shopping in order to make breakfast for the girls in the morning. I snatched the plastic bag from the seat beside me, making sure everything was in there before climbing out the car, closing the door behind me lightly louder than I normally do and locked it.

There was an odd whistling noise in the otherwise dead night – there was nothing major with the weather – so I knew Nic was asleep – and I frowned. What was whistling noise? Where was it coming from? Slightly cautious, I walked down the entrance to the house, my heart sinking when I noticed something.

The door was open.

It was pushed closed, but it had clearly been opened. There was splintering on the wood and my heart sunk. Someone had broken in. Then the realisation that the girls were still in the house hit me.

'Sam! Nic!' I called into the house, dumping my bag in the landing and running around the ground floor of the house; all the lights were out, curtains drawn like I had left them. Nothing had been disturbed but there was no noise from upstairs.

'Sam!' I called as I ran up the stairs, 'Nic!'

I ran straight into my room, pausing extremely sharp when I noticed Sam lying on the floor, blood seeping from a cut on her head.

'Oh, Sam,' I muttered, hands shaking, pushing my fingers to her neck to find a pulse.

'M... Mike...' I heard her mutter, as she curled up into herself and started to shake. I gently picked her up, holding her on my lap.

'Sam, I'm so sorry, what's happened?' I asked desperately to her half-conscious body. She seemed like she had been knocked out from... something. I picked her up, lying on her bed and throwing a blanket over her. The whistling continued, and I turned around – the window had been smashed on the left side. Something had been thrown in from outside, by the looks of it. I followed the projection path, and noticed a small black box lying on the floor. It was hard to identify what it was, but it was a home made.

'M... M... Mike... Michael?' I heard behind me and I jumped.

'Sam, my love, Sam, what's happened?' I asked her.

'I... I dunno,' She muttered, coughing slightly. I sat down next to her, rubbing her back but still on red alert. 'Nic?'

'She's...' I muttered, before getting up and running into her bedroom, pushing her door open. I should have known; Nic sleeps with the door open – the door closed was cause for alarm. Her window was also smashed with glass covering the floor. There was blood drops on the floor, but Nic's bed was empty and she was nowhere to be seen.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

'Agent 1021,'

The Soldier said in the doorway and the man, who was slumped in the corner of his makeshift bed - a tatty mattress which had the springs revealing in several places, with stains that he hadn't put there in his twenty odd years he had been here. He remembered what it was like to live in a house with a comfy mattress with family, but it didn't matter what he remembered. All of his family were murdered in front of him as he was taken to this Hell hold. He couldn't argue; he couldn't escape so he just went with it. He did what he had to do to stay alive. The men that surrounded him, his "friend," the ones who murdered his parents when he was a kid, assumed he was one of them now. He never wanted to be one of them; he would never internally conform to the low levels these men had sunk too. He was just doing what he needed to survive, praying that one day he could escape this Hell. On hearing his title – Agent – he stood up and saluted.

'We have a new mission for you, follow us,'

And he did.

The man obediently followed like a lost puppy, got into the lift with the man and remained in silence. He knew better than to start small talk. He couldn't exactly ask how his wife was, as she was still missing. He was meant to get married a few years back, when the girl was nineteen, but the girl escaped somehow and last year, when they brought her back in again they let her go. Since then, even the surveillance team can't find the bride-to-be, and he just prayed it would stay that way. No one should be forced into marriage. However, that was the way this place worked. You work hard, and when you show you are faithful to Kingdom, you climb the ranks, you get arranged a bride when they turn twenty, or if you're lower class at eighteen, and when they passed fertility tests and were at "peak fertility," and within the first year you are expected to have your first child, and when the kid reaches two years of age and are then taken, this continues until your seventh child just under seven years after your marriage, and those kids will be taken off to be raised privately to become more Soldier's to fight the war against good Savants.

The man knew he was a good Savant; but he had partaken in the war, but he never wanted too. Was he good or was that just an illusion? Was he lying to himself?

The lift climbed to the higher floors, where only the privileged few lived in happiness, their own room. Rumoured had it, they even had their own fridges and didn't have to go to the cafeteria like all the others do. The man wondered exactly why he was here – six levels from the top. The top was there the big boss lived, and where the next in line lives, the big boss's son. The second floor was his right hand posse and the third through to the seventh floor was private rooms for those who are almost saint-like. There was an empty room on the fifth floor, where the Big Boss' daughter was meant to move when she turned eighteen; however, she escaped when she was fifteen somehow. Last summer, they urged us to prep the room for her return but she escaped again. Good for her. I admired her strength despite never seeing her. Rumours say that she's beautiful.

'Your mission, Agent 1021.' He flinched internally at his referred to name - 1021 was the private number given to you when you join Kingdom. Everyone had an identity number, tattooed onto them when they were brought here, or if you were born here on your eighteenth birthday. He opened the door to the room – his eyes lighting up when he noticed how big and plush the room was.

'For now until we tell you differently, you have been moved onto childhood duties. These two kids in this room are extremely important and you have to focus on keeping them well and happy,' he thought these kids could never be happy, but he was still reeling. Kids? In Kingdom? How? They were always taken to the nursery, away from everyone else.

And then he realised the overheard the mission last night. He was meant to go with them, but he got told to stay. They were going to abduct two kids from their houses in the night. He doesn't know why, oh why they would want two kids under the age of five, but it was going to happen regardless. He could only imagine the stress their parents would go through now knowing their child had been taken from their beds, in their sleep, in their own house. He vowed he would care for these kids with all of his hearts just praying that the families when or if they find out that at least their children were safe and cared for.

'Why are they here?' He asked, and instantly regretted the words. The soldier looked at him, going to snap but he answered fairly.

'They're new assets. Food is in the fridge for you and the children, and you'll be allowed to take them out twice a day. You are temporarily retired from your normal duties, and will follow a new routine with the kids soon,' The soldier went to leave him.

He turned around and saw the two kids on the beds, no blankets on them and was simply in night clothes. They weren't asleep, more forced unconscious. One of the girls had a large cut on her head that needed medical attention. He had seen the first aid kid when he walked in, and the second he was left alone that would be the first thing he would deal with. How spineless were they – to hurt a child?

'Wait,' The man asked, turning towards the soldier. 'What are their names?'

The soldier hesitated before pointing to the brown haired girl in the left bed, 'Nic,' He said simply, before pointing to the blonde haired girl, 'Lily. They're your new family, 1021, be nice to them,'


	22. Chapter 21 - Sam

I curled up into myself, and the blanket that was wrapped around me skilfully, somewhere in the realm of feeling shit and feeling numb. Michael, after discovering me on the floor with my jogging bottoms which I used as pyjamas ripped from the hem to my upper thigh, and finding that Nic's room was empty, immediately filed the report and took me to Maui where I was immediately taken to the hospital. I hadn't been told anything apart that Michael can't see me. I had protested to high hell, wanting him with me but I had such a headache that it wasn't actually viable for me to argue. I closed my eyes.

Nic was missing. Someone had broken in, gassed me so I would fall unconscious, and had taken her from her bed. They had injured her somehow, as there had been blood on the floor, but I couldn't think about it. She was my daughter, she meant so much to me and I just let her go. I heard the door open to my hospital room, but didn't even bother moving.

'Sam?' I heard someone ask ever so softly, but I didn't move. I had no purpose. My only goal was to keep Nic safe and I hadn't even managed to do that. The man, judging from how deep the voice was, came over and sat next to me on the bed. I could feel there was added weight from where he sat, just past my feet. There was a hand on my knee.

'This isn't your fault, Sam,' He said but I didn't move. I heard him sigh, before leaning over slightly and sitting back down on the bed. I frowned in my cocoon of warmth before curiosity caught the better of me and I opened my eyes.

The man was sitting on the bed; but he looked a bit younger than me. He had a fluffy brown hair, pushed back, and was sitting on the edge of the bed with my medical chart on his lap. He was in just a shirt and some Nike jogging bottoms – not exactly the hospitals uniform. He sat hunched over, the way he was writing creating loops as he was writing down observations. I recognised him from somewhere. He was in the meeting, that I know for sure but his name. He was pretty cute though. Didn't he have a kid, too? But he continued to keep writing stuff down.

'What are you writing about?' I whispered to him.

'About you,' He replied without looking at me.

'What about me,' He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I hugged myself smaller. 'Am I okay?'

'Yeah, you'll be fine. You had a bruise where you must have fell against something on the back of your shoulder, but I cleaned that up. You had a few scratches and minor cuts on your leg, but they're gone too, a cut on your head,' He said so softly – he had the perfect bedside manner. No wonder why he worked in the hospital.

'I'm Jason, by the way,' I just frowned slightly at him.

'Where's Michael?' I asked him.

'He's on base,' Jason said slightly guarded. Did he hate me? Did he think this was my fault?

'Why isn't he here?' I asked again and he looked hesitant. 'Jason?'

'I'm not meant to tell you, I'm just meant to be checking up on you,' He muttered, looking towards the door.

'I won't tell,' I said softly, fully pushing my gift on him and I noticed his hesitation.

'Michael's not allowed in to see you, or within fifty meters, until they can prove it wasn't him who done that to you,' Jason said and my mouth dropped. What does that mean? He gestured to my leg, and I pushed it out. There was a long pink line and I jumped, wondering how that got there. 'We think the people who took Nic, when they knocked you out, ripped open your PJ's and cut you in the process. We don't believe they assaulted you sexually at all, but rules say they have to keep Michael away until they can testify it wasn't him who done this to you,'

'What?' I whispered. They thought Michael had hurt me.

'He was pretty pissed off when he came in earlier in the night,' Jason simply said.

'He didn't do this to me, he wouldn't hurt me. He just came in when I was waking up, after this... who would do this to us, Jason, why would they just take Nic,' I begged him for answers he didn't have. But there was something in his hesitation.

'They didn't just take Nic, they took Lily as well. They gassed Joe like they gassed you; Ella was at base talking to Michael, they tried to take Tyler too, but both me and Lucy was home, and once we got Tyler with us, they just left.' Jason explained to me.

'They've taken Lily as well?' Oh God, what was happening?

'Charlie is fine, though, I've already checked him over,' Jason muttered.

'This is my fault,' I muttered, curling back into myself, 'They're all going to blame me,' I closed my eye, head on my knees.

'Sam, no one is blaming you at all, me and Lucy aren't blaming you, Ella and Joe aren't, Michael isn't either. We all know that you had nothing to do with this. Look, all you need to do is fill in a statement about what happened, and that'll be proof that Michael didn't do this to you and he'll be allowed in. You up for that?' Jason asked so softly it warmed me slightly. Lucy was an extremely lucky girl who I've yet to meet properly. I nodded. If it meant I could see Michael, I would do it in a heartbeat. 'Do you want me to send in one of the girls whilst I'm gone?'

I just shrugged, torn between wanting to have someone else to talk too and being too embarrassed to see anyone else. Jason has told me no one had thought it was my fault, but surely it had to be? My heart sunk when I realised that both Nic and Lily were both gone, kidnapped. Two young children had just been taken. The impact finally hit me and I started to sob. My Nic had been taken.

'Sam, please, don't cry,' I heard a girl say with a glittery tone which immediately made me feel better just by hearing her. I opened my eyes but no one as in the room and I jumped back. 'Oh, sorry, hang on,' she whispered and I frowned. Where was the voice coming? Suddenly, there was a girl beside me and I jumped back.

'Sorry, sorry, it's just me,' the girl whispered to me.

'You came out of nowhere,' I sobbed.

'Sorry, I do that, sorry,' She whispered sitting on the bed. 'It's my gift,'

'You go invisible?' I asked sceptical.

'Er, I make a shield that forces you to look elsewhere so you don't see me,' She explained, tying her hair up. 'So yeah, I kind of go invisible,' she whispered. 'How are you feeling? I'm Lucy, by the way,'

'I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I didn't mean to do this, I knew it was all my fault, this happened at Blakeley and now it's happening here and they tried to take your baby and they took Nic and Lily and it's all my fault,' I gushed before the girl and she just looked sympathetic.

'Sam, no one thinks this was your fault, we all know you had nothing to do with it. Jason's gone to get the paperwork for your statement so we can let Michael in,' Lucy said softly. 'He didn't have anything to do with this, did he?'

'No! Of course he didn't!' I protested.

'We all knew he wouldn't hurt anyone, they just need to clear him, like they had to clear Ella before she could see Joe and Charlie,' Lucy said. 'Joe woke up a hell of a lot quicker than you, but Jason says it's something to do with the body mass ratio. Joe's hench, so with the same amount of gas it's less for him per pound so it wears off quicker. He was only out for an hour or so, he was starting to come around by the time he got here,' Lucy explained quickly. 'They tried it on us, but it never actually started. They've taken it in to be examined – am I being a bit creepy?'

'No,' I muttered but there was a lot to take in. 'Tyler's okay?'

'Yeah, he's fine. Jason's Dad is looking after him for now, he's on base too,' Lucy explained. 'There was two of us, they couldn't fight off both of us and try and grab Tyler at the same time,'

'So they went for Nic because I was alone,' I muttered and then realised I was only alone because of the fight I had with Michael. 'But... why was Joe alone?'

'After the argument, Ella went to tell Michael he was being stupid and to stop reading your mind,' Lucy muttered. I realised she couldn't lie, or even hide information, well at all. She was telling me exactly everything. I remembered telling Ella how he kept reading my mind and at times, it was okay, but it was getting a bit much knowing he could just be eaves dropping on my thought at any time. Ella said she would speak to him about that. I guess she took this night to do that, proceeding to leave me at home and Joe alone too. Oh God. 'Once again, not your fault.'

'Do they have any idea where they are? The kids?'

Lucy opened her mouth to say something, but Jason walked back in with a handful of paperwork. He sat down beside Lucy, not touching her in any sense, but so close their legs were touching and they seemed a lot happier in each other's company.

'Er, all you need to do is write a statement, there,' He gestured to the box filled with lines, 'and then just read and sign the other paperwork to get yourself discharged from here,' Jason said, 'Sorry, you were speaking,' He realised he had interrupted us.

'They think it's linked to the kids at Blakeley going missing, but then that case itself is linked to the kidnapping of twenty four on the Grey Net,' Lucy explained, 'When we got kidnapped, we were taken to a place in Norway but since then no one has arrived at that base, so we don't know where they are. However, we believe –'

'You got the statement yet?' a guy came around the door; tall, good looking, but he looked more like an older brother; extremely caring. He smiled slightly at me.

'Doing it now, Jake,' Jason replied as I grabbed the pen and paper, trying to grip the pen but my hand felt incredibly weak. Jake –that was the name Jason said, right? – hovered in the door for a moment. Annoyed that I couldn't see Michael when I needed him, I just wrote in messy handwriting "it wasn't Michael" and flipped the page and signed the box to be discharged. Jake walked into the room, picked up my statement wondering why it was so short and just smiled slightly.

'Yup, I can now see why you're genetically hitched with Michael,' Jake grinned, flipping the page before putting the paper down on the side. 'That'll do, come on kids, I don't think we'll want to see the make-up,' he gestured for Lucy and Jason who immediately got off the bed and filed out.

'I'll get Michael for you, Sam,' Jake said ever so softly and I nodded, smiling slightly, but curling myself up.

I don't know how long I was alone for, being hidden in my own dark cave unable to see but I heard the door open again and I looked up. Michael, looking slightly more stressed than normal, hovered in the doorway. The door closed behind him but he just swung his limbs. Gently, I kicked my legs off the bed and stood up.

'Sam?' He said, and I ran towards him and into his chest, wrapping my arms around him. He hesitated, before bear hugging me, lifting me lightly off the floor. 'I am so sorry, Sam, I'm so sorry,' He muttered, picking me up and carrying me back to the bed, sitting on the side with me in his arms as I cried. I felt so weak and helpless. My daughter was missing, and I couldn't do anything about it. 'Sam,' Michael said so softly. 'We'll find them, we'll find Nic,' He said so softly.

'How? We don't know where they are!' I protested in my tearful state. 'Michael this is my entire fault, this is –'

'How is it your fault? Sam, honey, none of this was your fault.'

'I could have helped Nic, but they closed the door, and Nic was making tornados, and the gas,'

'Wait, wait, you actually saw someone?' Michael asked me.

'I think, I... I can't remember if I did or if it was a dream,' I muttered.

'It's okay, we'll sort that out in time, I'm just so glad you're safe,' He pulled me to him tight, holding me tight as he rested his head against mine. 'I'm sorry about what I said and about reading your mind, I over reacted, I was just scared, I didn't want anyone to upset you. I wasn't being logical, and I shouldn't just take advantage of my gift and use it to read your mind,' Michael whispered into my hair.

'Ella talked sense into you?' I muttered, leaning against the wall that was his muscular chest. He laughed slightly.

'She always does – how did you know?'

'Lucy told me,' I muttered, feeling a bit calmer when Michael was with me.

'She told you? She probably told you everything then?' I nodded. 'We'll find them; come on, let's get you onto base and get you a drink,' Michael said, gently getting up and putting me down on the floor. 'Can you walk?'

'Why wouldn't I be able to?' I asked as he put his arm around my waist.

'The cut?'

'How did I get that?'

'I think the person you saw ripped open your jogging bottoms to try and find something, I don't know what, but they cut you in the process. I don't think it was intentional,' Michael said, gently tugging me to walk. I just followed his direction down the long hallways of the hospital.

'What were they looking for?'

'I have no clue, but they didn't do it to Joe,'

'How is their baby?'

'He hasn't really settled down, the nursery on site took him for a while whilst Ella was doing her statement and with Joe, but they've got him now and they're trying to settle him down,' Michael explained. 'I had a go, but I just don't have incredible-babysitting-skills built into me,' He opened the doors to the hospital, leading to the outside – the sun was barely up and it was freezing. Michael quickly put his jumper over my arms before tucking me under the arms.

'You're good with Nic,' I told him.

'Am I?'

'Yeah, you're incredible with her, and with Lily. And Charlie,' I quickly added the baby onto the end, not wanting to discuss Lily being gone too this soon, not until I've apologised to Ella and Joe for this mess.

'You're a lot better with kids then you think you are,' I mentioned as he opened the passenger door for me, watching me put my seatbelt on before closing the door. I don't think Michael realised how good he was with children; one day he was looking after Charlie when Ella and Joe went to Lily's school assembly and it was brilliant to watch. He settled Charlie down in minutes, and clearly doted over his nephew. And with Nic as well, he was incredible around her. The way he would let her read, join in with her colouring, encouraged her to use her gift but taught her not to use it around others. The amount of time, and money, he put into her and it was just perfect to watch. Even the way she helps him cook dinner –not something she's done because of the catered facilities at Blakeley. Even on weekends, they went about making cakes and playing with her hair. Hell, he even let her paint his nails. I looked at him as he got into the driving seat. I'm sure one day, not soon, oh God not in the near future, that he would want his own child to bring up from birth.

'I'm not entirely sure,' Michael said, starting his car and starting to drive down the thin tarmac roads and about five minutes later, we pulled in front of a sci-fi looking building with test tubes along the front – and then one of them opened. Were they lifts? Holy crap. I sat in there gawping at the primarily black-and-silver building, which was matt, but there was shiny bits which i assume were one way windows. And it was incredible. Michael laughed.

'You impressed?' Michael asked.

'Holy shit,' I whispered. 'How is this so normal for you?'

'I've worked here since I was fourteen,' He told me and my mouth dropped. So young? 'It's better on the inside,' He said, turning off the car and coming around to my side of the car, opening the door. 'Come on,' He coaxed, as I got out the car I fell over slightly, my leg fumbling in on itself. The pink silky material, that looked a bit like a scar was starting to pull my skin.

'It's incredible,' I whispered. Of course, we always taught the kids about Maui, and how it was normal people – normal Savants – and it was just the job they did in a normal office. This is not a normal office. This is insane. I remembered in assembly how they used to lecture us to contact Maui if anything happened against us as Savant's and I remember a supposed school trip to go here but I was ill on the day. Everyone came back saying how incredible it was and how it even had a pool on site but I didn't believe it. Now I do.

'Yeah, it's been expanding incredible amounts over the last few years,' Michael said, before pointing to a building just in view, down the roads and across fields of neatly mowed lawn. The building looked like loads of black shards of glass in a modern art way, and it blended into the trees and looked like it belonged there, too. 'I mean, Ella designed that building when she was pregnant with Lily, she's completely in charge of that bit,'

'What's it for?'

'Psychological interviews – have you ever seen Lie to Me? The TV show?'

'Er, yeah,' I asked, wondering what it mean.

'Ella is the female Cal Lightman, she can read emotions based on facial muscles, and Joe can force someone to talk, between them they're flawless. My cousins and the people Ella grew up with, Sky's gift is to be able to see emotion, and Zed's just terrifying. They've just moved over to England a few months ago and they both work there too, but mostly part time. Lucy works down there too because she just goes invisible and will just randomly appear. She can creep out someone so much they tell us all their secrets and crimes,' Michael explained to me. 'If you ever decide teaching wasn't your thing, you could easily work there,'

'My gift is only making people happy,'

'Your gift is a lot more than that, my love,' Michael said softly. 'I think you can persuade emotions to do what you like, you can make someone have a mental breakdown, or make someone so guilty they tell you everything, but you're too sweet that you've only ever made people happy,' Michael informed me and my mouth dropped.

'You think I can do that?'

'You persuaded both Jason and Lucy to tell you everything that we weren't meant to tell you and you were only mildly aware of doing it,' I did, didn't I? I pushed Jason to be so happy that he thought of me as an extension of his own conscious and he spilt the beans to me. Lucy must have been a continued effect from me wanting to know what was happening. I thought it was her being unable to lie, but might it have been actually been me?

'How do you know that happened?'

'I was just outside the fifty meter radius the entire time, there was no way after what happened to Nic,' He paused for a moment, his voice cracking, 'That I would let you out of my sights,' He gently led me into one of the lifts, and the door whooshed shut and headed upwards, opening two floors above.

It led out onto a nice balcony, a grand staircase heading down one floor to what looked like a sweeping reception area. Across, separated by a half wall with a decorated top was a coffee marquee, tables around them with staff members in the black shirts and bottoms combo. On the other side, there were some concession stands with breakfast cooking – I could see cereal on one table, and two men were in aprons cooking up a treat – bacon, eggs, and mushrooms and so on. Across from us, there were several lines of rooms, and the building continued up for a few floors, but only had black walls with lights on them. This place was huge. Michael put my hand in his, gently pulling me down the stairs. I walked in silence, too amazed by this place, and he spoke to the receptionist.

'Mr. Evans, how are you today,' the busty receptionist asked.

'Good, have you got the swipe card for Miss Rose?' He replied back politely. His daughter had been kidnapped only hours before and he said his day was _good?_

 _Far from good, but she won't shut up otherwise. She's been trying to ask me out for four years._ Michael told me softly and I hesitated. _Hey, you got my attention within four seconds, there's no competition. It's clear who's more beautiful._ I blushed slightly.

'Yes, here,' The receptionist held out a tag for her. 'Who's going to authorise it?'

'Er, me?'

'Michael, sweetheart,' She said and touched his hand with her thin fingers and long, blood red nails. 'You know you don't have the authorities,'

'Rachel, please, you know I do. Stop trying to make me stay here longer, I don't care about you and your cleavage, you should have known by now. ' Michael snapped and my eyebrows went through the ceiling. I saw Michael frown, before turning around to me and smiling slightly.

 _That'll be the downside to your gift,_ Michael told me. I did that? I made him say that. _Yup, good for you, love, good for you._ And with that, he put the lanyard tag around my neck softly, like he was putting on a delicate necklace, before taking my hand and walking me over to the food concession stands.

'Get food,' Michael told me.

'I'm not hungry,' I told him.

'You're going to have to eat, Sam,' Michael looked down at me.

'How can I? Nic's gone, we don't know where she is, we don't know where Lily is either, they could be dead –' I started crying as the realisation hit me. They could be dead. No, no, I couldn't believe it. They were fine. They are fighters. Even though they were only five and four, they wouldn't give up.

'Hey, hey, Nic's fine,' Michael whispered so fiercely that it had to be true, 'come with me,'

He walked straight past the food, through an archway, down another corridor and into a locker door, before pulling me straight onto his lap and hugging me so tight.

'I know this is awful for both of us, Sam, and I want nothing more than for Nic to be back. If I didn't leave, if I didn't storm out because I read what you were thinking, none of this would have happened,' Michael whispered, resting his forehead against mine.

'No, you're not to blame, no one is apart from the people who broke in,' I whispered back to him but he just remained silent.

'I just want Nic back, and I've only known her for a month,' Michael told me and I knew he was trying to keep it together – for me, most likely.

'She's your daughter,' I told him feebly. 'She's our daughter,' I corrected myself and Michael smiled sadly.

'Finally got you to admit she's your daughter as much as she is mine,' He told me, a slight sorrow in his voice.

'We're going to find her?'

'Of course we are,' Michael said. 'and then we're going to share a bed with her because she is never leaving our sights again,'

'I'm sorry for what I said last night,' I started to apologise, and Michael gently pressed a finger on my lips.

'No, it was completely my fault. I am so sorry for listening to your thoughts, and for arguing with you, it was none of my business, I was just so scared you were going to get hurt. Since you moved from Blakeley you just looked so... free. You were so happy and I was so scared you'd go back to being as confined and as sad as you was in Blakeley,' Michael told me.

He noticed how sad I was? It was edging on depression, Hell it was probably into that line year's back, but it was just so repetitive every day that it made me feel subhuman. Since moving in with Michael, and actually getting a salary too rather than just accommodation and catered good, I had started to feel human. I could go out whenever I wanted, even if it was just going to the shops to get milk. Blakeley was a brilliant sheltered life, but that was what was wrong with it – it was completely sheltered. Michael taught me what it was like to be normal, and I could never thank him enough.

'Can we just put it behind us, and agree that you will no longer read my thoughts, or at least comment on them, and I will start talking to you a bit more?' I asked him softly and he nodded, offering his hand to shake. I gently took it.

'Deal,' He whispered. 'Now, let's go find our daughter,'


	23. Chapter 22 - Michael

**Chapter 22 – Michael**

Someone has the nerve to kidnap my daughter and my niece. I sat boiling in my own anger before realising my anger was futile – being angry or sad wasn't going to the help the kids. I also had to remind myself they were both under five, and they wouldn't be doing too well on their own and especially is it continued on for a prolonged period of time – they needed to be at home with their parents, where they belonged, rather than with whoever kidnapped them. But why would they kidnap two _kids?_ It didn't fit the pattern at all which terrified me. If it fitted the pattern, we had hope. If it was still related to the Blakeley kidnapping, we hadn't found the body of any of the missing pupils, which meant they weren't dead just missing. However, kidnapping two young children was just so sick. And they were my daughter and my niece.

Sam had gone off with Lucy to try and take a statement without me in the room, which was standard protocol, and I had been left alone with a simple instruction to meet and pick up Sam from the Twist, the building that Ella is in charge off – in an hour. Somehow, in my angry walk, I ended up in the hospital where I knew Ella was. I walked up and down the corridor, before seeing a room that had the curtains drawn and walked straight in.

Joe stood straight up, dropping Ella's hand on the bed. I assume he thought I had news but I just shrugged and he just nodded, sitting back down before he held Ella's hand again.

'Has she found anything yet?' I asked in a hushed whisper. Ella was lying on her side, her hand out with a drip in the back of it, and two blankets, one light pink and the other a harsh navy colour, were over her, as well as the white of the hospital bed and she was all wired up. I could see that her temperature was 35 degrees – what was classed as mild hypothermia for normal people was mildly reasonable for her. She was using her gift of projection to attempt to track down Lily, and hopefully finding Nic too.

'She hasn't come back yet,' Joe said quietly, looking at her temperature on the screen – any lower and Joe will have to bring her back. 'How are you coping?' He asked.

'Crap,' I sighed, pulling the blanket over Ella's toes.

'At least you have Sam,' He whispered, and I knew he was trying to make me feel better but nothing at this point would. 'How is she doing, too?'

'Crap too, she's blaming herself for all of this,' I explained to him as I sat down on the other chair, behind Ella's back. 'She's convinced that if she didn't move into mine, none of this would have happened,'

'It wasn't her fault,' Joe frowned slightly, but was too busy watching Ella for any signs of her coming back around and waking up.

'I've tried telling her that,' I replied and he just bit his lip slightly. 'I still haven't apologised for how much of an asshole I was to you after you found Ella. I didn't actually understand until a few weeks ago with Sam, you were just trying to help her and you had to deal with me being an asshole, I'm sorry,'

'It's cool, man, you were just scared for you little sister,' Joe said, and I was annoyed he was being so reasonable all the time. If he started being an asshole to me because I had met Sam, I would have flipped off ages ago. But he went through month of me being a dickhead to him, plus the stress of seeing Ella, his Soulfinder, medically die in theatre and months of recovery with her, and he still shrugs it off. I leant forward and touched Ella's pale cheek and flinched at how cold she was.

'You might have to get her back,' I sighed, knowing if we do it means she wouldn't have found anything, and she wouldn't be able to try again for at least four hours until her temperature is back again. Joe seemed hesitant, torn between desperation to find his daughter, and keeping Ella safe.

Suddenly she jumped back, waking herself up. Joe, who was probably used to her sudden behaviours, leaned forward slightly, holding both of her hands in one of his as I shat myself, leaning back into the chair.

'Anything?' Joe asked softly.

'Why are you not in here with me?' She muttered, frowning at the sheets and Joe simply rolled his eyes, before climbing into the bed with her, hugging her to his chest. I noticed that Ella randomly rolled over to frown at me.

'Did you find them?' I asked her hopefully.

'I could sense them down into Devon, and I lost them from there but they were down there somewhere,' Ella said. 'The main road going from the M5 down into Devon and Cornwall, they went down there, both of them, but halfway down the trail went faint but they're both alive. I wish I could find more, but until Uriel is here, I can't go back into the past too much. Your past seeking isn't good enough,' She whispered to Joe and he nodded.

'That's enough to get a search out though,' Joe told me over Ella's head as he hugged her tighter.

'Yeah,' I muttered, typing that into my phone and sending it straight to Jake so he could get it out. 'We've already put out an official notice for all airports and airstrip so they can't get on a plane with the girls,'

'That doesn't include private aircraft, Michael, and I doubt the kidnappers would fly Easyjet,' Ella told me and I nodded.

'We'll find them,' I tried to sound confident, squeezing Ella's shoulder as she teared up, terrified for her daughter as Joe gave me a hesitant look.

'You can show emotions this one time, Michael, we all know you're terrified like we are, you don't have to constantly be a brick wall. You are human, if you didn't notice,' Ella told me and I nodded. I was trying to keep it together for everyone around me, but I had completely missed the point and now looked like I didn't care at all that my daughter was missing. But I did, I just wanted Nic back safe, to hold her again and never let her go. I missed her terribly.

'And that's okay,' Joe continued on from Ella's speech, 'you've accepted her as your daughter, it's okay to be terrified and miss her,'

'They'll be fine,' Ella muttered but I think she was trying to dampen down her own fears. I hope both girls will be fine, but I wasn't entirely sure. I had seen the dark side of humanity, I had seen what people are capable off and most of the time age is just a number and if kids got in their way, it's not a massive thing but the idea of someone murdering my daughter was just too much. I had thought if I broke apart Sam and Nic, it would break Sam, but the harsh reality was me bringing them both to me was breaking me apart and destroying Sam completely. I looked at my watch, and knew that I should leave Ella and Joe too it and make my way to the Twist to pick up Sam.

'I am proud of you Michael, I made it seem easy to take Nic on even though I knew it wasn't, but you're doing brilliantly. Mum and Dad would be so proud,' I heard Ella say as I got up. She knew I was going, but the comment meant so much. I thought so much of my sister, aspired to be like her. I turned around, holding back the emotions and smiled. Hardly ever did we bring up our biological parents, but when we did it meant a lot to us. And the idea that they would be proud of my moves when it came to Nic, and perhaps Sam too, lifted a certain weight off my chest.

'They'd be proud of you too,' I kissed Ella's forehead before walking towards the door.

'Er, where's mine?' I heard Joe mutter angrily and I grinned.

'Not happening, sunshine,' I told him as the door whooshed opened as I pressed the bad.

'But we're family,' Joe whispered as I walked out the room and down the corridor.

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I sat in the reception room of the Twist, with a silent receptionist typing away on the computer. I had no idea what she was doing as she was not actually involved in any of the work and she wouldn't be sending emails – so it was either she was having an argument with the toner company or writing a novel. However, she knew the hierarchy of Maui and knew who I was, and kept a keen eye on me. Perhaps she was a spy? Who knows? I jumped as the internal doors closed and Sam came over toward me. I pulled her into a hug, and left my arm around her waist and pulled her out of the door not trusting the receptionist. She might include us in her book.

'How'd it go?' I asked her, hugging her back to my chest.

'As good as a statement can go, I guess,' Sam whispered to me, 'I like Lucy, she has an innate kindness in her,'

'Yeah, she's incredible,' I whispered back to her. 'You have that kindness in you too,' I told her, opening the door for her. She just sighed.

'Did Ella find anything?' Sam asked, nibbling her thumb in a sign of clear anxiety. I opened my side of the car and climbed in.

'She tracked their path down to Devon, they're alive, but she couldn't get much further. She's called over her brother from Colorado as his gift is past-seeing so between them, they should be able to follow the car and track them down exactly but he won't be here for – twelve hours,' I checked the clock, noticing that it was eleven already. By the time Uriel arrives on base, it would be twenty four hours later. They could have made it to Australia by that time. I could see Sam making the same calculation. 'We'll find them,' I told her.

'How can you be so sure,' She whispered, her fear showing through.

'It's what we do,' I replied.

'You haven't found the missing school kids,' Sam pointed out and my heart faltered. 'Sorry, I'm sorry,' I just nodded slightly, trying not to show her how much the comment hurt. 'I just meant...' She whispered but it was clear as day what she meant. The silence settled awkwardly in the car. I continued driving down the roads from the Twist down a bit further on the base, past the hospital and to the onsite meeting rooms, where we were due to gather. I couldn't help but wonder if Sam thought the missing students were still missing because of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her pull her knees to her chest and rest her head on her knees, and then I heard her sobbing. I pulled over to the side of the road, before looking at her.

'Sam, I'm sorry,' I muttered, putting my hand on her knee.

'I don't think it's your fault,' Sam sobbed, not moving at all from her foetal position. I hesitated slightly.

'How did you know...' I whispered to her.

'Because you were feeling guilty as anything, Michael, you started to believe it was your fault just because I said it!' Sam whispered and I hugged her. 'I don't deserve you, I'm bad for you,' Sam whispered.

'No you're not, why are you saying that?' I asked her and she didn't move. We were both stuck in this car, in the moment, neither of us moving and the absence of our daughter an ever lurking shadow, an abyss in our hearts and our normal lives.

'I'm toxic,' Sam whispered ever so quietly.

'Sam, you're not, you're brilliant. Look up for a second,' I asked her before gently lifting her chin up. She met my eyes for a moment, and I leant forward to kiss her as the world opened up again for us.

* * *

 **Hello! It's been a while, and I apologise, but what do we think so far? I haven't heard a lot from you and what you all think, so please review! :) I promise it gets a bit more exciting and when it all starts to kick off, every single secret that I've been hinting at in this book, and the previous two, all comes out! :)**


	24. Chapter 23 - Sam

**Chapter 23 – Sam**

Being at Michael's work meant I was effectively rendered useless, and tossed to one side. Currently the swinging lights had more input into the meeting that I did, and I just felt like a waste of space being here. Vacant voices from various people passed overhead, but they meant nothing to me. I just wanted my Nic back and I was furious that they hadn't sent people down to Cornwall where Ella had tracked down their movement and that those people weren't breaking into every house to find our daughters that had gone missing. I was stuck in a deadly cyclical cycle of realising all idea's I was coming up with were useless, and being bitter wasn't helping anyone, to demanding people who didn't know me to break into houses to find them. Silently I rested my head against the table, not listening to the voices anymore. I had to distract myself from this whole case, and the only thing that came to mind was Tobias. I remembered when I met him for the first time.

It had been in the whole school sports day when I was seven, and he was eleven I believe. Within Blakeley, they had four different "houses" that you were a part of, sorted into tutor groups within the teams. I was in the red house, which had the name of an influential British figure that I cannot remember now. But within Blakeley, the whole school is separated into different schools too; infant, junior, secondary and upper sixth and sports days were done within the different schools as it would be unfair to have a relay team with four year olds and eighteen year olds running against each other. So, when we were in Junior, Tobias was the captain for the red team. I was in the 400m run, and the second the claxon sounded for us to start, I stupidly fell over my own laces and face planted the dry racing track, cutting open my lower arms as well. Tobias was the first one over to me. He helped me sit up, asked if I was okay, pulled me over to one of the teachers and then a first aider for my cut and gave me his bottle of water. He even missed his race to make sure I was okay – at first, I thought it was him being overly generous. From there, it started to develop more. Marc and Aisha's work time table got extended until five o'clock every night so I had to hang around the main building until then so I joined extracurricular clubs; and every Tuesday night was athletics and every Thursday night, it was cross country. Tobias was in both. We had a child like friendship, discussing boy bands new songs and singing along stupidly, and other stupid child-like things, but we enjoyed the company. Tobias like many others boarded the school during the term and he was always so pleasant with me.

It was when we were older; I had started to suspect there was something more on his side. When I developed the eating disorder, and he would always go out of his way to make sure I was okay. He used to run slow during cross country to lap into the girl's wave to run with me and talk about it, and he would find me down on the beach after sneaking out of his dormitory and when I was hospitalised, he made his way down to the hospital to visit me. On the day of his upper sixth graduation, when the entire school sits down on plastic chairs on the field, and I saw him cross the stage, receive his piece of paper that contains nothing but a certificate printed in the staff office, and he looked at me and smiled softly, but there was something nervous in his eyes. After the ceremony had finished, and his parents had congratulated him and taken photos his parents disappeared to go speak to some staff. I went up to him, congratulating him.

'So, this is real then, huh?' I remember asking.

'Yeah, I'm off to Scotland tomorrow morning, flying,' He explained to me.

'Didn't fancy the drive then?'

'No, hey, look, we can still keep in touch, yeah?' he asked me softly, and there was something that shone in his eyes – similar to the look Michael gives me now but more juvenile.

'Yeah, why wouldn't we?' I asked, oblivious. God, I was so stupid.

'I dunno, it's just I like you, Sam, but we're too young, but I don't want to lose contact with you. I don't know if I'll be able to visit you until my Masters' is over and that's in four years time,' I remember that sentence clearly because back then, it meant as a friend, when you're fourteen and convinced the world hates you and you have no use. However, now with the power of hindsight, the comment packs a punch.

'You won't lose contact with me,' was all I said thinking he won't lose a friend but he looked cautious. Now I understand why. We both had Soulfinder's somewhere, and there was such an age gap that even fourteen and eighteen would seem bad – it would also be illegal. But, not wanting to cost any more to Marc and Aisha than I already did, I never asked them for a phone. The promise of "you won't lose me" broke apart in five minutes and for four who years I never saw Tobias. I missed him, but more in a way you'd miss a bracelet if you had it on for years and took it off. I felt almost naked without him lurking around me at breaks and lunch like a dirty stain on my white blouse, or a paint splatter on my fresh-pressed blazer.

The next time I saw him was at my graduation, when I walked across the stage. However, my graduation was a lot different because I had become infamous due to being the only "Blakeley Baby," as I grew up at Blakeley and never left. So signs were being help up with "Blakeley Baby" across, and the entire school stood up to applaud me. It meant a lot, I didn't have any family there for my graduation but I had the entire school's spirit with me. And it was only as I finished grinning that I noticed Tobias standing to one side, leaning against a tree in a shirt and smart trousers, shining shoes, looking like a model. When we were dismissed, I ran over to him and hugged him like there had been no time between us. Since he was eighteen, and now twenty two, he had turned gorgeous and I could see people talking about him. They were jealous. I scoffed at the thought; why were they jealous he was just my friend.

My stupidity was laughable.

He told me he had graduated and got a job back at Blakeley, and I told him I was doing my degree next year. He had been there the entire time, never holding my hand literally but metaphorically. He helped me study, gave me lifts to the paediatric ward I worked part time on, and consoled me when I was too stressed. One night, I cried so much I fell asleep in his arms, and he carried me to bed and slept on the sofa before cooking me breakfast and leaving for work. He left a note saying he wanted to talk to me after school in his new class room, which had once been used for the cross country team meetings in what seemed like a good-fated twist. But it was that lunch break that Nic was dropped off to me. A tiny, sleeping baby in a car seat with no past, no hope to track her. I took her up to my room and read the neatly printed letter addressed to me; it explained that she couldn't keep her here, she wanted the father to look after her but the "Gods" wouldn't permit it, so she decided to give her to me. We had gone to school together, the letter tells me, and we had been friends. She admired my strength and intelligence, and wishes for her daughter to be brought up in the same way as I did. Oh, and her Dad was my Soulfinder.

Tobias was great when Nic was dropped off, he helped me out with buying all the stuff she needed and setting up my new studio flat with her own bedroom, he helped me babysit, and even taught Nic how to walk. He always seemed close and whenever he asked about a partner, I said I was fine by myself, I had Nic to look after I couldn't spare any time to a partner. I just assumed that he thought I was being nosy and never the alternative. I wasn't even looking for my Soulfinder at this time, but it was when Nic was a toddler that I started wanting her Dad to be in her life for her sake. I knew what it was like growing up without a family, it sucked, and I didn't want Nic to be the same. One parent was better than none.

However, the entire time, I never thought Tobias would like me. I remember when he was little and we did all the cross country and athletics he said he wanted to work at Maui, he wanted to be one of the managers. Fate pulled a bad trick on him, setting me up with Michael, the guy known for being a badass when he was as gentle as a butterfly.

But because of Michael, I lost a friend but gained a Soulfinder and Nic gained a father. I also gained independence, happiness, I was so much more relaxed and comfortable with myself and I was so happy that Nic was happy too. I had fallen in love with Michael, and all I had proceeded to do was piss him off. I made a throw away comment in the car that practically accused him of not finding the missing school children and since them, he had been abnormally quiet with me. After he kissed me, in silence he drove back to base, with only a few words to me telling me to follow him, and he seemed so much more talkative with other muscle-wall men than with me, who stood behind him like a shadow. And he pulled me into the meeting, sitting me beside me before ignoring me as he typed on his laptop. All because I accused him of something he had no part of. I didn't even mean it, I was just worried he was getting out of his depths because it as his own kid involved – his own flesh and blood – and he seemed so cocky that he was fine with everything. It was my fear talking but he didn't take it like that.

But why did I just assume a relationship with someone like Michael would be smooth sailing? It was such a stupid idea – it was clear he had no idea how to cope in relationship, much like I didn't, and neither of us had really talked about the whole thing. We just went with it, but neither of us anticipated or thought that something like this would have happened.

I sighed audibly. I could have spoken to Tobias about the whole thing, but I couldn't. He said he liked me. He was jealous of Michael and thought he was creepy and he was bad news. I couldn't just go back now and ask for his help. Michael was still the best thing to happen to me, but I just felt like I couldn't cope anymore.

'Sam?' I heard someone asked and jumped up again. The room was empty, and even Michael who was beside me was now gone. Instead, Ella was in his chair looking at me. 'Are you... okay,'

'Yeah,' I replied but it was so hollow that Ella could hear I wasn't okay.

'What's up? Apart from the obvious,' Ella asked softly.

'I pissed Michael off,' I muttered and she frowned.

'Was he a dick to you?' Ella asked.

'He just blanked me,'

'Oh, he does that when he has any emotion apart from what he's normally like, chances are he's just stressed and upset about Nic, don't reflect it on yourself,' Ella said softly.

'I just feel so useless, I'm sitting here doing nothing whilst Nic...' I muttered and Ella nodded.

'Same, I'm not even allowed to go and track them down because I got this stupid thing on,' She lifted her wrist up showing a thick black band around it, 'It applies warm pressure, which is what they use to bring me back from my little projection, so I physically cannot project,'

I looked down at her wrist, and the clasp was a six digit tumbler lock so she wouldn't be able to take it off. But they found a way to stop her using her gift?

'So that,' I gestured to the device, 'will just stop your gift?' I asked her.

'It stops be projecting far distances that would knock me out, I can still project around Guildford and so on but anywhere else, it would just pull me back the second I tried, it's really good and I helped Joe make it for me as when I was pregnant I wasn't allowed to project anywhere for the babies sake as my temperature would drop rapidly, but I couldn't help myself so this was our compromise, he puts it on when he doesn't trust me to behave.' Ella said softly to me.

'Where did they all go?' I asked her.

'They went into another meeting room to discuss the plans further, I stayed behind because, well, you've looked better,' Ella muttered. 'You're not okay, are you?'

'This is all my fault, Ella, if I didn't come into Michael's life, they would never have taken Nic and Lily,' I protested and Ella frowned at the very vague link, 'They only know Nic because she went to Blakeley, and then got Lily because they were friends,'

'You didn't kidnap the girls, you had no role to play in this whole thing, this is in no way your fault, Sam,' Ella reassured me.

'How are you so calm, Ella, how is that possible?' I begged for her answer, she seemed composed whilst I was such a mess – I couldn't work out how she did it.

'If Lily was here and someone else was taken, she wouldn't want me panicking. Also, being distressed won't help find them at all,' Ella explained, sitting on one of her feet. 'I know it's really hard, but you have to keep it together for their sake. Nic wouldn't want you worrying and getting yourself ill, would she?'

'No,' I whispered back.

'We'll find the girls, and we'll bring them back safe,' Ella reassured me, 'We won't settle for any less,'

'When is your... cousin coming over here?' I asked her. Was it cousin?

'My brother, but he's flying over from Colorado now, and the rest of the family will be over here soon too, to try and track down the girls. We're hoping that Lily will be in the same place as Nic, as I'm not entirely sure how good they'll be at tracking down Nic when they haven't met her, but they've met Lily enough to try and trace her,' Ella explained ruffling her blonde hair slightly. 'They'll all be here soon,'

'Will soon be soon enough?'

'Yeah, I hope so,' Ella said, 'My youngest brother, Zed, he said he foresaw Lily in her reception play which is in December and he said a girl who matched Nic's description was with her – they were both angels, if you were curious – so we know we get them back safe and all will be well,' Ella said but I could sense she was holding something back.

'How accurate is Zed's foresight?' I asked.

'He's only been wrong two times, but they went against the course of nature and were forced by external events,' Ella said.

'So you think they'll be fine,' I asked her, relieved.

'They'll be fine, but we just need to get them back as soon as we can. Hopefully, my family will be able to help with that, but whatever has happened between you and Michael, you two have got to put it aside. You are not strong enough individually to deal with this by yourself, you two need each other. I'll have words with him and tell him to stop being such a giant kid,' Ella told me.

'It wasn't his fault,' I muttered.

'I don't care who's fault it is, you apologised for whatever happened and he's still acting like he's twelve, he needs to snap out of it especially if he has a kid in the picture which now, he does.' Ella said before rolling her eyes. 'Jeez, I sound like my Mum, when did that happen,'

I sat up straight, the force of Ella's words hitting me hard. I had to be strong and fight to get my daughter back.

'What can I do to help this investigation?' I asked her, pleased when Ella grinned at me.

'I have just the right thing,'

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

'Ella, when I asked what I can do to help, I didn't mean what can I colour?' I asked, sitting twiddling some pencils and staring at the colouring book she had placed in front of me.

'Well, we're both colouring,' She muttered, pulling out her pack of colouring pencils.

'I don't get it?' I asked her.

'Well, we're barred from the investigation, as you don't work here and I'm still on maternity leave, and we're both related to the people in the investigation, and I'm assuming you don't fancy going home to twiddle your thumbs, so we're going to calm down, have a nice cup of hot chocolate, and colour until my family arrives, and when they do Uri has the code to take off this bracelet so hopefully we can track the girls down,' Ella explained, flicking through the book before settling on a page.

God, she was weird but I hoped she was right about finding Nic. Eventually, one day, Ella would become my sister in law and if I had to start trusting anyone, it would have to be today and it would have to be her and Michael. I had a life time of not being able to trust anyone or anything, but I guess now would be the time to trust my sister in law to be (eventually, I guess) and my perfect Soulfinder.


	25. Chapter 24 - Sam

**Chapter 24 – Sam**

Two hours later, Ella and I had made our way down to the gym that was on base after we had finished colouring and the boys had yet to return. Ella said it was fairly normal for them to go off to talk and not come back for hours and it's hard to predict exactly what they were doing. I had felt too awkward to talk to Ella previously, worrying she would judge me but she was so gentle and nice when she was terrified about Lily. I realised we had got on well, and both of us spoke none stop since we started colouring. I had even calmed down a bit. She had taken me down to the gym in her Clio, parking outside and going into the changing room.

'Why don't we just go for a swim?' Ella asked, taking off her shirt and was in just a bra. I looked away, slightly embarrassed. She frowned. 'We all have boobs, love,' she protested back, before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her. She was so open, compared to me who was secretive as anything.

'It's, just, er,' I swallowed slightly. 'I don't know how to swim,' I frowned at her and she smiled softly.

'Okay, I'll teach you, no biggy,' Ella said softly. 'That's if you want too?'

'I might just sit on the side,' I mumbled, feeling too awkward for her to waste her time teaching me to swim when, at any moment, Michael could just pitch up. 'I'll stand in the shallows,' I offered at her slightly disappointed face.

'Okay, well, you're still going to have to wear a swimming costume then,' Ella said, walking over to some grill-like metal lockers, looking through the thin plastic bags they were in and passed one to me. 'Should be the right size,' Ella said.

I blushed as she went just out of view and put on her swimsuit – clearly one that had belonged to her for a while, but was still in a good shape – as she came out from around the corner before turning her back. Slightly awkwardly, I stripped off my joggers and Michael's shirt I have been wondering around in since I came out of hospital and pulled on the snug swimsuit; Ella had picked the right size for me. Was that embarrassing on my behalf? I grabbed a towel from the pile and wrapped it around me and cleared my throat.

'See, good fit, you're meant to be a swimmer,' Ella commented, leading me out of the changing room, down a glass corridor and to a large, flat water pool. The room was quite light with white tiles, a half wall around the shallow end of the pool; there was a separate pool down the other end for children, with a water slide and some inflatable's on the side. The rest of the pool was very quiet, the lanes for competitive swimming more prominent in the flat water. Ella sat down on the side of the pool, before lowering herself into the water and swimming off into the middle, soaking her hair in the water.

'Stop looking at the water like it'll swallow you whole,' Ella laughed slightly as I sat down on the edge.

'You know, I might prefer the sidelines on this one,' I said tentatively. I would love to learn to swim but considering how I was already drowning in my thoughts and worries I wouldn't consider adding water into the mix. I could stick by my words and stand in the shallows, but there was no way in Hell I was getting out my depths. I think Ella could understand where I was coming from but she was on the opposite end of the stick; she found water comforting when deeply distressed, whilst I felt like it would be my enemy for my woes.

'That's cool, Sam,' Ella said softly.

'Sorry,' I muttered.

'Hell no, I'm sorry for seeming like I was going to force you,' Ella said. She was so sweet, and even though I felt like I didn't deserve anyone being nice to me at the moment, I knew Ella was going through the exact same torment as me but she still went out her way to make me feel at home. That, I guess, was the difference between brilliant people like her, and mildly crappy people like me. She deserved every brilliant thing that came her way, she must have worked her ass off to come here and get to the role she was in Maui, and all I did was become a stand in parent. And then I proceeded to let my daughter get kidnapped. I sighed; was there anything I could have done differently? There was so many "what ifs" about the whole thing that settled against my weak resolve to not think about it but when Nic wasn't here, and Michael was still being an asshole, I felt the weakest I had in years. I felt like the four year old who was dropped off with no memories. I was nobody when I didn't have my daughter, or Michael.

As I sat on the floor, legs in the water, I heard the doors close to the swimming pool and immediately jumped when I saw a girl come in here. Girl was a bit of an understatement; she was more a woman, early twenties perhaps. Wearing a comfortable looking pair of jeans and a loose camisole vest with a pocket in the top corner, she stood by the door. Her short brown hair sat very comfortably in line with her jaw, and she seemed almost pixie-like.

'Er, is Ella here?' She asked, her accent a mix between British and American.

I pointed into the water, too scared of the stranger to speak. How did she know Ella? They didn't look anything alike so I assumed she wasn't an immediate relative. A few seconds of awkwardness between us two, Ella resurfaced.

'Why are you looking like there's a crocodile on the room?' Ella asked curiously.

'Ella!' The girl called, and Ella spun in the water.

'Phee, bloody hell did you catch unicorns to come here so fast?' Ella asked, before swimming to the other end of the pool and jumping out the water. She hugged the girl, soaking her slightly but the girl didn't appear to mind.

'I am so sorry for what happened to –'

'We're not mentioning it,' Ella said softly, nodding it to me on the side. Phee looked back towards me and nodded. 'Yves is...'

'Catching up with Joe,'

'And the little one is...'

'Is with Yves, catching up with Joe,' Phee said, following Ella as she came over to me. She grabbed a towel from the side, wrapping it around her. Phee came over to me and I stood up slightly, trying not to slip on the tiling.

'Hey, Sam, is it?' Phee asked me and I nodded shyly, shaking the outstretched hand. 'Nice to meet you, we've heard so much about you, all good stuff of course,'

I just swallowed slightly awkwardly feeling so swamped.

 _Michael's cousin's wife._ Ella explained to me telepathically as the passed me a towel. _They're the family I was adopted by; it's all an extended family kind of thing. Michael views the Benedict's as his brothers too._

 _Big family then,_ I replied nervously. I couldn't do big families. I struggled having Ella and Joe consider me as a sister for quite a while, but within the last week it felt normal being close to them.

 _Yeah, but everyone's nice and will respect you. I'm afraid near enough everyone is coming over from my side of the family to try and find Lily and Nic, but you can go somewhere else if you find it too uncomfortable about everyone?_ Ella's kindness was clear the comment made me feel weak.

 _I can do it,_

 _Hell yeah you can,_ Ella commented.

'Er, Sky and Zed were in the taxi behind us, but God knows where they are,' Phee added when she noted the telepathy had dropped.

'Better get dressed then, that wasn't a long swim,' Ella said to me.

'We were all in Barcelona together, we left on the first plane that had seats,' Phee said softly. She put her arm around Ella, rubbing her arm slightly before dropping back as Ella went to get her clothes out the locker.

'How are you coping, Sam?' She asked so softly and I just shrugged, not wanting to show weakness in front of strangers.

'I'm doing fine,' I offered back weakly.

'You've devastated and scared, aren't you?' Another girl walked into the changing room and I tagged her as a very light and gentle character. She had a very caring tone to her voice, and I immediately liked her. My gift was telling me she was concerned and she was just caring and I didn't even need to work my gift around her to make her happy and content; she was already there.

'Sky,' Ella warned from somewhere.

'Sorry,' Sky replied back before sitting next to me. 'It's okay to feel sad, Sam, we can't even imagine...'

'We'll find the girls, don't worry,' Phee replied back to me and I curled up small and started to cry.

'Oh, Sam,' Sky whispered, hugging me. 'I'm sorry, this will be okay. You have some of the best people in the world looking for Nic, and that's just Michael,' Sky remarked but I couldn't smile. Michael hated me because of what happened in the car. He still hadn't come to check up on me, so how much did he really care?

'He does care,' Phee protested, 'He cares so much which is why he's desperately looking for Nic – for you as well as him and Nic,'

'Really?' I whispered.

'He's breaking every rule to allow him to look for your daughter,' Sky nodded in agreement.

'We all know he's not the most... social person, he's a pain in the ass, he's awkward and protective to extremes, and by Hell he is not good with his words but he loves you and Nic, and he is trying everything to make sure he can find them.' Sky added.

'Yeah, big brother is a pain in the ass, however, he does love you and he is doing this for you. He does this all the time; he doesn't tell you because he's too busy already doing it, but he is breaking every single rule out there most of which he suggested to put him in charge so he can get to Nic and Lily quicker,' Ella added and I felt so weak that Ella was so calm on the outside whilst I was a mess on the outside as well as internally.

We all sat in quiet for a while, as my life felt like it was falling apart. The three girls – all of which were younger than me – were talking vacantly over my head but I couldn't join in. I had began to calm down when I heard someone close the door to the swimming pool.

'Ella?' I heard Michael call into the swimming pool.

'What's he doing here?' I whispered, looking up from my knees to a very guilty-looking Ella.

'I asked him to come and speak to me,' Ella said, 'and by me, I mean you,'

I must have looked horrified at her, as she slipped into telepathic conversation with me. _I'm sorry, Sam, please don't be too annoyed. You two need to talk urgently. Neither of you can do this alone._

 _You didn't even mention it to me,_ I replied back completely devastated.

 _I'm sorry, Sam, I didn't tell him either. He thinks I fell over and hurt myself. Please, you two need to be together and be strong for Nic, not refusing to talk to each other. He can't do this without you, and I don't think you can do this without him either._ Ella told me and I just continued looking her tearing up. I trusted her.

'Ella, are you okay?' Michael asked coming closer.

'Phee, Sky,' Ella said softly, nodding towards the fire exit that had been propped open. The girls immediately got up despite looking hesitant and walked over towards her, filing through the door and waiting on the other side.

'Michael,' Ella called as the girls got up and walked towards the door not questioning her moves. Michael opened the door to the changing room, casting a very quick gaze at me before looking at her.

'You didn't hurt yourself,' He said bitterly to her and I curled up again. He didn't care about me because of one comment I made. And it wasn't even meant in the sense it came across.

'You two need to talk – you cannot do this without each other,' Ella simply said, walking out and closing the fire door shut. I curled up even further; head on my knees so I couldn't even see where Michael was. There were two or three minutes of absolute silence before I felt someone pulling me. In one quick sweep, Michael pulled me up onto his lap and I rested the side of my head against his shoulder.

'Sam,' He said softly but I cut into his sentence before he could say anything.

'I told you I'm toxic,' I replied back.

'No, Sam, you're not,' Michael replied back, hugging me right. 'Why are we like this?'

'Why am I like this, you mean,' I tried to laugh but it came out hollow and he frowned at me, resting his forehead against the side of my head.

'Nope, me,' Michael whispered. 'I overreacted,'

'You had every right. I shouldn't have said...'

'You meant it in such an innocent way, you just stated the obvious and I flipped off about it because I thought about it too much after, you didn't mean anything malicious about it,' Michael whispered to me softly, his breath warm in my ear. He gently nibbled my earlobe, holding me tight. I had yet to change out of my swimsuit, and Michael's hand rubbed up and down my side, and I didn't miss his smile as he surveyed me in the tight fitting swimsuit, before he telekinetically moved a towel from the side and wrapped it back around my shoulders.

'Then why did you just leave me at the meeting room?' I bit back and he sighed.

'You weren't shielding when you was thinking about him,' Michael whispered and I immediately blushed before hitting my head against his shoulder. 'I was extremely jealous and scared you would leave me for him,' Michael muttered into my ear and I gasped, tuning into his brain expecting the usual rings of protection but instead, nothing. He didn't even stick up a picket-fence for protection. He was allowing me fully into his brain. I could tell he was being brutally honest, and my gift was enlightening to me of how he felt in the last few hours that he left me; he was understandably upset knowing that I was thinking about Tobias in the way I was speaking, he was terrified that now I realised Tobias like me I wanted to go back to him. `He feared that now this whole thing that happened with Nic, that I would blame him as it was his house that was meant to be safe and I would leave him when we get Nic back.

'Michael,' I whispered. 'I love you, not Tobias, since I met you it has always been you,'

He cleared his throat. 'You love me?'

'Of course I do Michael, I love you to pieces,' I muttered, leaning against him as he held me tight against his chest.

'I love you too Sam,' He whispered to me softly.

'Then why would you hurt me like that?' I protested back.

'Because I was terrified I was going to lose you,' He told me again, the softness in his voice getting to me. He was being genuine - he thought I was going to leave him because I blamed him. It was quite the opposite – I was never going to leave him, and I felt like it was my fault. But his over protectiveness was obvious, the way he would sit with Nic at all hours, doing what she wants all the time. He never wanted to leave her side. And I guess the same was with me, once Nic had gone to bed he would sit up with me, he would help me mark, cook me food, bring me hot chocolate in the evening and coffee in the morning and he would treat me brilliant. I would never leave him. I want everything that was desired with him; one day I wanted to marry Michael and one day a lot later have our own children – a sibling or two for Nic.

'I'm here to stay,' I muttered back to him and he grinned, running his hand up and down my bare leg.

'I could tell,' He replied back in a low voice. Oh yeah – he was a mind reader. I knew that wasn't the full extent of his gift and Ella told me he used to be extremely dangerous when he used his gift to the max but I had never seen it or heard exactly what he could do.

'Do you want to come back to the office with me or stay here?' He asked me softly.

'Can I come with you?'

'You're here to stay,' Michael said softly, kissing me with such passion it hurt my chest. 'You're going to put clothes on or stay like this, because i really don't mind this...' He whispered to me, eyeing me up and I laughed, getting off his lap wrapping the towel around my shoulders.

'Stop that,' I laughed as he got up behind me, wrapping his arms around me, running his fingers across the pattern on my swimsuit, bending down to kiss my cheek.

'You know everything you said you wanted?' He asked me softly and I blushed. I realised I hadn't been shielding and most likely leaked my thoughts to him. 'Give it time, it'll happen,' He whispered and I blushed even more. I must have looked like a beetroot.

'You weren't meant to hear that,' I muttered awkwardly.

'Oh, I know,' Michael said, 'I want the same thing,' He said ever so softly, resting his hand on my lower stomach and my eyes opened up a bit wider. 'Of course I want to marry you one day and have another child,' He muttered, kissing down my neck softly, working down to the top hem of my swim suit. Anyone who's ever gone swimming knows that the hem lines are pretty low down and could lead to some wardrobe malfunction if it didn't fit properly. So you can guess how far down Michael's kisses were getting.

'Come on, let's get you changed,' He whispered incredibly softly, kissing me again.


	26. Chapter 25 - Michael

**Chapter 25 – Michael**

I walked back into the main meeting room, noticing a lot more people who had rocked up in the last few hours. Primarily, it was all of Ella's family. They were my family too, the Benedict's adopted me metaphorically as one of their sons after they adopted Ella but it wasn't official. At times, I wished it was because not only would I have been with Ella when she needed me the most, but I would have had a proper family rather than the make shift one I was fairly quickly booted out of. I noticed Ella sitting on the floor, Joe next to her with Charlie with them again. Jason and Lucy were a few meters away, chatting to Trace and Diamond. I wondered where their three children were, but it made sense if they left them all with Diamond's mother. Not many people would want to bring their children here with them if they didn't have a choice. Lily and Nic had been targeted; the first place the kidnappers would expect us to go is here. Bringing kids into the danger zone would be foolish. However, there was a very small baby bump under Diamond's loose fitting blouse. Guess you can't keep all children away. Zed and Sky were sitting to the right of Ella, Sky leaning into Zed as they quietly spoke to Yves and Phee, who was opposite them. Poppy, Phee's four year old, was running between the four of them, before diving into Yves, who hugged her tight.

There was still quite a few missing; we needed Uriel to start with, so Ella can project back to where she last found the girls, where we predicted someone had set up a Savant shield blocking the trail, to find what time they were there and have Uriel look back into the past at that time, find the car or whatever they were moved in, and then Zed to guide them through the shield with Ella. Xav needed to be there for medical reasons because it could send Ella's temperature plummeting like it did in the hospital, and Will and Saul to sense any danger they would run across.

Looking down at Sam I saw the fear in her eyes. She didn't like big families. I put my arm around her.

 _It's okay, they all consider you part of the family too._ I told her softly.

 _Oh god, that's terrifying._ She whispered. She never had a family, and I'm guessing being thrown into this massive one won't help her at all. She was also quite annoyed at Ella for setting her up in the changing room to speak to me and I was annoyed too but I understood why she did it and I was thankful.

 _You already know Ella and Joe, Jason and Lucy as well._

 _I don't know anyone else, oh God, this is terrifying,_ Sam whispered back and I pulled her into my side.

 _They're the best chance we have at finding the girls,_

 _I know... I'm just scared they won't like me._

 _How can anyone not like you? They are the most welcoming family you'll ever find, they'll love you Sam._ I reassured her, leading her over to where Ella and Joe were sitting on the floor. Ella watched us. Closing the link on Sam, I opened up another telepathic link with Ella.

 _Ella, that wasn't funny. You lied to both of us._

 _Michael, you needed to talk to her. You can't keep being an asshole to her like you are to me. I can tolerate it so long; Sam can't. Every time you're your normal arse self to her, she breaks a bit and this is by no means the time to find your limits. She cannot cope if she's lost Nic as well was you._ Ella's voice broke a bit when she mentioned loosing Nic. _You have to be nice to her from now on in._

 _I know,_ I replied back.

 _Loosing Nic is already destroying Sam; she can't think she's loosing you too._

 _I know, Ella, I got that._

 _You didn't because I had to lie to get you over to the gym for you to speak to her. Which in itself is pathetic and even the idea I would have to do that is pathetic too So no, you don't know that. However, you need to start realising Sam is the best thing to have happened to you, which it's clear to see she is, but you need to start treating her like it too. Drop that fake rock wall you've been convincing everyone you are._

 _I am a rock wall._ I joked with her.

 _You cry every time at the Lion King. Even I don't cry at that, and I cry a lot._

Ella cut off the telepathic conversation, pretending we didn't even speak as she held Charlie a bit tighter, reluctant to let him out of her sights anymore. The room's atmosphere was completely different without Lily running around; she had been the eldest child from the Benedict's and she had a special place in everyone's heart. However, with her gone, everyone was extremely sober, and there wasn't much laughter. Even the second eldest, Poppy, was acting really odd now her favourite cousin wasn't around. I gestured for Ella to pass over Charlie, which she did accordingly like we always do. It was just habit.

 _Do you want to hold him?_ I asked Sam as Ella got up with Joe to go and speak to someone or perhaps just walk off the dead foot she probably had.

 _You sure this is a good idea?_

 _Of course,_ I said, passing over a mildly confused Charlie to Sam. She took him from me slightly awkwardly, but soon enough got the basic grasp back on him, holding the baby close to her chest. Charlie looked like he was on the threshold of him crying for a moment, surveying Sam, but he settled back down almost in seconds and started making those cute baby noises that makes everyone around him want to have their own kids. I gently adjusted his blanket.

'He's adorable,' Sam cooed.

'He's something else, yeah,' I added. I turned around in time to see Xav and Crystal walk into the meeting room, Crystal hugging Ella which such a force she was lifted from the ground and spun around.

'I really don't know if I'll ever fit in here,' Sam told me and I looked back to her and saw how concerned she was.

'Give it a go, and if not, I'll promise never to drag you along to another one of these meet ups,' I told her. I hoped these "meet ups" wouldn't happen often for events like this. I knew Crystal and Xav's flights landed only an hour before Uriel's flight, which contained the rest of the Benedict's. Within an hour, we would be able to start hunting down the girls. It would be tough, neither me nor Sam being able to do anything apart from being on standby with the other girls who would find themselves at loose ends whilst their Soulfinder's were helping to track down Lily and Nic.

'You can't just leave your family for me,' Sam said, holding Charlie so softly. I smiled down at her and I shrugged. I wouldn't leave my family either, but I would see them less if Sam didn't like them. I wouldn't risk Sam either.

'He's just so precious,' Sam said, holding Charlie. Charlie had grown a lot since he was born and now, when you hold him like you once did like a baby; he barely would fit in your arms. However, he liked it . He would often take his bottle lying down like that, and want to fall asleep like that, being next to Ella's chest or Joe's chest. Even now, he looked up at Sam and looked incredibly content and cute. My sister really did make some cute children.

'He's something else,' I said, gently rolling his socks back up again and he giggled slightly.

'You seem good with children,' Sam whispered to me.

'Something I had to learn,' I told her and she frowned, 'Seriously, when Lily was born I held her for an hour in shock. I had no idea even how to hold her, Joe had to show me,' I said and she frowned. 'I never had to deal with children much back them,' I explained. 'Joe and Ella were extremely patience with my ignorance around how to care for Lily, but I got there.'

'You just seem like a natural,' Sam told me.

'So do you,' I added.

'I had to learn pretty fast, I went from never interacting with children under the age of seven, to being an impromptu parent. But it was either that or give up Nic, and I already loved her. She already had people who gave her up, I couldn't add myself to that list,' Sam said and I clenched my jaw. Did she suggest I have Nic up?

 _Of course she didn't suggest that, you ass hat, she meant Brooklyn gave her up, and she couldn't do that to the baby, do that to Nic._ Ella sparked up. _This is why you always flip out for no reason, you always over think. Of course she never meant to suggest that. She wouldn't think of that._

I sighed. Ella was correct.

 _Why am I like this?_ I asked her.

 _Because you're scared of losing her or the fear that she doesn't like you but rather she's doing this from maternal love and not because of you. You get into a panic the second she says something you don't like because you don't want to lose the best person of your life._

 _How the bloody hell do you know this?_

 _I do the same with Joe._ Ella told me briefly before cutting off and I looked down at Sam, who was just staring at Charlie with an intense look at the cutest lop-sided grin that it hurt from adorableness just to look at. Yeah, she was the best thing to ever happen to me. That much was evident.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

Uriel, Victor and Will, along with their parents, landed just over an hour after, and we had managed to get them to Maui's main campus in record breaking time, breaking every speed law there was and even using the police sirens we had for emergencies to get them here on time, or as soon as we could. The second they set foot in their buildings and collected their scan badges, we split into two. Sam, as much as I didn't want her too, was to stay with Diamond, Phoenix, Poppy, Joe, Charlie, Crystal and Saul and Karla in one of the playrooms whilst everyone else headed up to one of the sponge rooms. Sponge rooms were designed for people to exert their gifts with no exterior damage, so it included padded walls a very soft floor. It was like a mental cell, but welcoming.

'This is cosy,' Will said, immediately diving onto the ball pit on the far side of the wall. The plastic balls were used for telekinetic activity, providing a light weight material that will help ensure precision. Someone telekinetically threw a plastic ball at his head.

'Focus, Will, we're not here to have fun,' Victor scolded him.

'Although, that does look fun,' Xav quipped back. 'I'm sure little sis wants a dip,' Xav added.

'Little sis who is older than you, and much more mature,' Trace added.

'By four months, it doesn't count,' Xav added.

'If I was born on time, it would have been six weeks,' Ella joked, sticking her fingers up at him. Ella was born extremely prematurely, which stunted her growth. All of our family were tall; six foot and over. Ella was barely five foot. On her work badge, it mocks her for being 152cm, which was a tiny fraction of an inch away from being five foot. However, saying she's not five foot was just too amusing.

Xav ran up to her, proceeded to lift her up in a fireman's grab before running over to the ball pit and throwing her in. Vick protested as everyone, even Ella, laughed. Xav and Will were doing an incredible job of keeping everyone's mind off the missing children, keeping the atmosphere light before they were heading into a dark job – trying to hunt down their missing nieces. Well, missing niece and cousin's kid. However, they had admitted to me that they considered me as a brother too, rather than a cousin and they were already referring to Nic as their niece.

'It's been a while,' Ella laughed, sitting in the ball pit.

'What, you being thrown around by us?' Will asked her, throwing a ball at her,

'Yeah, it's been a good few years,' Ella said attempting to get out of the ball pit before Will launched himself at him, knocking her back down into the ball pit despite the laughter.

'Well, it's only fair to help big brother, you get me?' Xav announced.

'No, bugger off,' Ella said, sending a stream of telekinetic balls at him.

'Now you've called it,' He shook his head mockingly, before standing on the edge and taking a mock Olympic-style dive in as Ella and Will laughed as he headed straight for them.

'I thought we were here to find Lily and Nic, not play ball pits,' Vick mocked.

'Why don't we all get in the ball pit and we can do it here,' Ella said looking at me before nodding her head beside me.

'I'm not getting in,' I told her bitterly.

'Crabby boo won't get in,' Xav said, shaking his head mockingly.

'Uri will get in,' Will said, staring at him and he didn't need asking twice before he climbed in with them, laughing as he next to Will.

'This is so stupid,' He added but he still smiled the entire time. Trace shook his head, debating if he wanted to climb on in or maintain dignity and stay out. In the mean time, Zed ran and jumped in, landing lying across Xav and Ella, and Yves gingerly took off his shoes. On realising all of his brothers were in there, Trace got in cautiously before laughing, realising how stupid it all was that all of his family, apart from Victor, were in a ball pit when they should be doing a serious job.

'Vick?' Trace said, patting the space next to him.

'I will not lower myself to your stupid levels,' He shook his head but there was a slight hint that he wanted to get in – but he didn't want to make it seem like that. I raised an eyebrow at him. He knew I picked it up.

'Michael,' Uri offered, gesturing next to him.

'I mean, it's stupid enough we have a ball pit in here,' I added.

 _You know you want to come in here,_ Ella whispered to me and I frowned at her, immediately cutting her off. Her gift for projection allowed her to enter people's minds and use their gifts. I had forgot she could do that. She didn't use her gifts when pregnant and kind of forgot how to fully use her gifts. I hadn't been hit by her using someone else's gifts in a while, but she didn't get to where she was in Maui for no reason. She doesn't do it often, stealing people's gifts, but she does it when she has too and only for good.

'Fine,' I said, knowing I couldn't block the persuasive powers. Vick looked at me like I had been kidnapped by aliens and returned to Earth with four extra arms.

'Michael, you're a very important serious person, why are you getting into a ball pit that has little to no reason,' Victor sighed.

'Come on Vick, just get in and then we can find the kids,' Uriel said to him. Eventually, Vick sighed, taking off his blazer jacket and the shoes before climbing into the ball pit before laughing slightly. 'This is so stupid,'

'Well, now we're all comfy,' Ella said as Will put his arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture. 'Shall we get started on finding our daughters?'

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Hello! Just a quick question; what is the longest amount of words should you have in a chapter (mine are normally between 2500-3500,) but I have a few really long ones like 9000 words and I dunno if you would want it shortened down at all.

 **UPDATE: 9000 words is the equivalent of reading this chapter from the top to the bottom three times, but with no breaks. Further update; it's 9000 words because everything happens in near enough one go (I'm sure you can work out some of it, but there are also massive events that i don't think you'll see happening but I have been hinting about. If you've read the other two books, you might be aware of how subtle the hints are,) So rather than having five or six chapters that all end in cliffhangers, I condensed it into two long chapters; one being 9000 and the other most likely being around 5000, which are long. Of course, I worked out how long 9000 words takes to read and it's approx 20-30 minutes depending on how quick you read. Like that's quite a long chapter. Would you rather have two long chapters or five or six shorter ones which would be 2500-3500 words long each?**


	27. Chapter 26 - Michael

**Chapter 26 – Michael**

I had only been involved in one of the Benedict's mind gatherings three times, twice when I was in my teenage years and one when I had just turned twenty one. Since then, they never really needed me – I was more a pointless extension. However, now it was my daughter they needed to find I had been added without any extra mention. Everyone settled down in the ball pit, not physically touching but close enough to all be linked together. I could feel Ella including me in the whole family link, supporting me as Zed added me as simple as you would adding someone to a Whatsapp group.

 _What's the plan?_ Vick asked, knuckling down to the task at hand.

 _If, Ella, you project back to the road where you lost contact with the girls and take Uri with you, Uri you pick up the scent and go back to the time you think it is, I'll track the car through time with you and we should get a fairly accurate time period, Will, sense any danger towards the girls, especially when we get them, Yves if you use the coordinates we find and try and find out where they are in relation to us, and Zed just make sure Michael can see everything._

 _I'll sit here and do nothing,_ Vick was apparently sulking.

 _Grow up._ Ella told him.

 _Kids, come on,_ I told them both. Now was not the time to be bickering.

 _Of course, Xav keep a very close eye on Ella, the second her temperature gets too low pull her out. Hope this time you're not hiding another kid,_ Trace asked her.

 _Oh Hell no, not this soon. Who do you think I am?_ Ella retorted back.

 _You did hide Lily quite a long time from us._ Uriel softly added.

 _I didn't know about Lily for a fairly long time as well! I think Xav was the first to pick something up when he was on about high levels of interference but we just assumed I was having dodgy shields; we didn't expect him to pick up Lily._ Ella explained.

 _Well, if I get interference now, you're taking a test,_

 _I'm so glad we're so open about these things,_ She sighed. _Fine, let's get to this._

A few seconds later, we were all back on a road. The sky was overcast, ominous black clouds hanging around on the peripheral horizon. Either side of the road were high trees, dying grass and I'm sure if Ella's projection extended to allow us to smell, it would either smell of roses or manure.

"We're in Devon or Cornwall, that's for certain," I said. Ella's gift allowed us to speak to each other rather than use telepathy, but we never spoke ourselves. It was like a higher tune of telepathy, where we would hear each other's voices as we spoke rather than felt them in our heads. This would all sound extremely odd for someone who's never experienced telepathy.

"I believe it's somewhere along the main road that leads from the M5 down to the end of Cornwall; it could be either side of the border. However, the track cuts off just up there," Ella gestured to further down the road. "They were brought along here at the speed limit, but it disappear off radar,"

"Could they have left the car?" Trace asked her.

"No, I think it's more that someone had blocked my gift from seeing further. It was a planned attack against the girls with an unknown motive, but if they blocked off my projection skill from seeing further, it does raise the question of how much they know and who the attack was actually at. It seems an odd detail to include if they had no idea what our gifts were," Ella said, hugging herself.

"What's her temperature?" Vick asked Xav.

"She's still good," Xav quibbled back, but he never said what it was. So it was dropping already. We didn't have much time.

"Okay, so Trace, Uriel, can you go roughly back to when the car would have gone."

"Yeah," Trace said pulling out a piece of thick cloth from this pocket. I recognised it as the blanket in Nic's room, which had a small amount of blood on it. My heart started to race. Was Nic okay? Why had she got injured? Her room was completely soaked and had random branches in where she must have called a storm to help her, but it didn't work. Trace looked up at me, gave me a sympathetic look as he must have realised how much it was destroying me, before we went back again.

"I got roughly this time," He said. It must have been just after six, perhaps slightly later, as the sun was just coming up. The road had one or two cars going past in a span of a few minutes. "Uri, can you define it any further –"

"That car," I said, nodding to one coming over the horizon. I recognised it. Everyone turned to look – A silver SUV was coming over the beginning of the road, going just under the speed limit.

"Why that car?" Vick asked.

"It just is that car," I answered back.

"I'll check it out," Ella said.

"Not alone," Trace said.

"Fine," Ella said and Yves nodded at her, and they were both gone from the view slightly. I held my breath, hoping and silently praying to every God out there and the entire Marvel universe too that Nic and Lily would be okay. I would never be able to forgive myself if they weren't okay. We stood to the side of the road. Despite Ella and Yves travelling with the car, we could still hear them talking.

"The girls are both okay, stone cold out but both okay," Ella said and I sighed, tearing up slightly. "Xav?"

"By the feel of it, they were put out with an aesthetic-type gas, apart from a few bruises Lily is okay. Nic has a scrape across her head where she was hit by an object but by the looks of how deep it was, my money is she hit herself with a tree branch when she brought in the storm. Unlike Sam's, who's cut was cause by a struggle, Nic's isn't. It'll heal up fine – I can't do anything from here – but they're both completely fine. Emotionally they're pretty unstable, but I can tell they are distressed but they're being comforted. They're still alive, and someone is caring for them mediocrity," Xav explained. "Someone is tending to the cut on Nic's head, keeping it clean,"

"Who?" I asked –not normal kidnap behaviour.

"Don't know,"

"The car is turning off the main road now," Ella said.

"We're not heading to the Cornwall border, but rather heading towards the North, let's speed this up a bit," Yves said. There was silence for a few minutes as Zed focused on bringing the trail forward in time as Trace helped.

"Okay, so we're on a field, I've got the coordinates. There's some sort of block of flats, kind of thing, half of them are all underground, and the rest are above but not much, perhaps ten floors or so. The car went through three security checks before going into the building on the ground floor. They were then taken upstairs, a few floors from the top, and they were handed over to one of the men in there who is looking after them," Yves said.

"He actually cares about the kids, he's making sure they're okay, they're not too stressed and he's feeding them and so on – that's not normal," Ella added.

"Can we see the building?" Vick asked.

"We should be able too," Zed said. He had been completely quiet from the strain of holding everyone with so many gifts being flown everywhere.

"Ella, you need to be careful, you're temperatures already into the danger zone and you're gunna start having a nosebleed soon," Xav added.

"I'm fine,"

"Ella!" Xav yelled at her.

"I'm fine," She added, her voice like stone.

"We're talking later," He added. But he wasn't pulling her out. She must have injured herself, but not dangerously.

"Haha, sure," Ella said, completely ignoring the warnings sent from Xav her way. I couldn't tell her temperature thankfully or I would have flipped long ago. She needs to learn to stop risking herself.

"Okay, hang on boys," Zed said as we were projected to the same field where Ella and Yves were waiting for us, glaring at the building like it was some kind of poison or deadly toxin. Nic was in there. I tried to calm myself down but everyone was telling me to break through that door and get my daughter, and my niece, out of there. However, it was just a projection image. Nothing would happen.

I frowned at the building as the silver car started to make its way down the dust path. This was familiar. Why? Why was this so familiar? The hexagonal building, half underground in darkness and half above, with a mast on top. The added security in the middle of nowhere. The black Jeep on the side, with guards dressed all in black waiting. It hit me like thousands of army trucks hit me.

"Oh shit," I said.

"What?"

"That's Kingdom, that's Luman Carnes Kingdom," I said.

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We all left the projection, Yves leaving first to get the coordinates into his laptop tablet he had brought into with him, Ella shortly after. I opened my eyes to see Ella lying on Xav's shoulder, blood covering her lower face and spilling down onto her grey shirt, staining the front. She was somewhere between conscious and being passed out, her eyes closed. Xav, who too had a bit of blood on his shoulder, was holding some tissues under her nose. She must have gone through too much strain bringing everyone over to her projection – which was what Xav yelled at her.

'I'll take Joe to take her to the hospital,' Xav said, 'Stupid idiot, I told her,' He said, standing up and picking her up in one quick move.

'How's her temperature?' I asked, as he got out of the ball pit with Ella, who was now unconscious.

'She managed to mask her temperature for me, so it looked like it was lower than everyone else's but not too bad; however now she's freezing and needs to be warmed back up medically. About thirty four degrees, its bullshit,' Xav grumped angrily. 'Joe is coming up in a second to take her,'

I watched as he put down Ella on one of the padded sofas, throwing a duvet over her and putting tissues under her nose which had turned from a waterfall to a trickle.

'How's the coordinates going?' I asked Yves,

'By the looks of it, it's in the middle of a heritage field in Devon, called Hartland, that was the location of the building,' Yves told me.

'You think it is Kingdom? But that's not in Devon, that's about an hour away,' Trace said.

'The brother, Lucy's brother, has a gift about duplication. That's how they made their money. He just duplicated loads of notes and as they're not counterfeit, they are accepted by the bank. It's fancy money printing. However, he can also use it on other things, weapons, so on.' I explained.

'But, this is a building,' Vick said.

'Well, look at this,' I said, climbing out of the ball pit and grabbing my own laptop that was left on and in the corner. I sat on the steps of the pit, loading up the evidence report from last summer when the girls went missing. 'That's the original Kingdom building, when we raided it last year it wasn't inhabited,' I told Vick and he nodded.

'They cleared off,'

'But they never parted, we believe they moved collectively as a unit to somewhere else,' I explained to him, scrolling down. 'This was the building they hid the girls in, which was in Norway,' I showed him and apart from the different colours, they were the same building,'

I flicked through the photos, taken from the same places in the two different buildings.

'The building that we picked Lucy up when she was fourteen has long since been demolished, but she says the lay out was the exact same as these two,' I explained, 'About fifteen floors below ground, and it goes to the top of who is the most powerful,'

'It does look pretty similar,' Victor agreed.

'Pretty? It's identical,' Trace said.

'They are the same building but moved,'

'This one is a lot newer,' Yves pointed, 'Look, it's the same foundations but this has substantially a lot wear, so it looks like an exact duplicate of an old building, do we know how his gift works?' Yves asked.

'Lucy cannot remember how it works just what it does, they all super strong Savant's, on the same level as us, I mean she can disappear. It's completely plausible for him to replicate the building he lived in when he was a kid, he has the blueprints, and he should be able to duplicate it perfectly.' I explained.

There was a knock at the door and Joe walked in, immediately spotting Ella who as still passed out and lying down. He walked over to her, gently playing with her hair.

'Let me guess, she over did it,' Joe said. He didn't sound annoyed, but defeated.

'Got it in one!' Xav joked, gesturing to the blood on his shirt.

'Did you find the girls?' He asked hopefully, his voice breaking slightly.

'Yeah, I'll fill you in on the way to the hospital,' Trace said, getting out the ball pit and sticking his shoes back on as Joe gently scooped up his wife, telekinetically wiping some of the blood from her face. There was a look in his face, desperation to get Lily back but such love and dedication for Ella. He was annoyed she hurt herself.

I had to make sure Sam was okay.

'Should we all go have a break and meet back in that big hall place in about half an hour?' Zed asked.

'Yeah,' I agreed knowing he must have read my mind to get to the same place where I was thinking.


	28. Chapter 27 - Sam

Chapter 27 – Sam

When all the boys and Ella had gone off to one of the training rooms, I was left with Karla and Saul, Michael's aunt and uncle but in a way parents – how their family works I have no idea – Crystal, Diamond, Sky, Phee and Lucy. Jason disappeared to prep a hospital room for Ella when, in his words, she inevitably pushes it too far. I sat awkwardly with everyone else, before I realised that they did treat me like part of the family. I had started to calm down and feel relaxed with them, managing to join in with the joking and the conversations. However, when the girls went to grab a coffee, I didn't want too and Lucy couldn't because of Tyler and breastfeeding, I got talking to her.

She explained to me what happened when she was a child; she and her brother were the only kids and her brother was always treated like Royalty whilst she was made to wait on them hand and foot. After her mother's murder, they moved into a place called Kingdom and she was locked in one of the basement, forced to be a maid. She managed to escape when she was fifteen, and thankfully at the same time Michael was taking Ella out on a driving lesson (even though Ella too was fifteen, but she worked for the Government too at fifteen. Laws were made to be broken by Ella,) and managed to pick her up and take her to Maui where she made a full recovery and carried on her life like normal.

Until last year. She was kidnapped alongside most of the girls, excluding Phee and Diamond and of course Karla. They managed to escape but her friend was forced to stay and didn't make it out. She teared up, telling me she still feels guilty and she hopes Dixon is still alive, but deep down she thinks it easier to give up hope, but then she feels like she's giving up on her friend.

The room went silent for a moment, and Lucy looked faded.

'Joe told me he's taking Ella to the hospital, if we wanted to go over there and meet Jason?' Lucy asked and I nodded. 'His Dad dropped off Tyler there too,'

'Why is Ella in hospital?'

'She overdone it.'

'Have they found the girls?' I asked anxiously as I followed her out of the room, she paused as I scanned my pass before she led me to the front, doing the same with the pass. We ran up the stairs to the lift as we spoke.

'They know where they are, but they haven't told me where, but they're just going to have a moment to make sure Ella's okay before they start trying to throw a mission together to get the girls out. They're alive, and they're being looked after well wherever they are,' Lucy explained, pressing the button to head to the ground floor and I teared up with relief. They're fine. Nic was okay.

'What about Nic, she was injured?' I asked her, and I could feel her talking to someone telepathically. It wasn't Michael, he was still shielding so he couldn't speak telepathically, but I couldn't sense who she was talking too.

'They say it was just a cut on her head, caused most likely by her bringing in the storm, most likely a bush. Xav says to worry more about your cut than hers, someone wherever they are, someone is looking after he, cleaning the cut out and keeping her safe.' Lucy said, gesturing over to a red Ford Fiesta, unlocking it with her remote. I walked around the car, climbing into the passenger seat as she got in, started the engine and reversed out of the bay and drove down the small dirt tracks heading to the hospital.

'She's being looked after?'

'Yeah, Jason said the guys said someone is looking after both of them extremely well, they're at no ill health, they just want their family back,' Lucy explained.

There was silence as Lucy drove down the dirty tracks heading towards the hospital but I was buzzing. Nic was okay, and Nic was being cared for. Okay, I was still beside myself with worry for Nic and there was nothing more I wanted than for her to be here but she was okay – it was a massive weight taken off me. Lucy parked up at the hospital, seeing Jason waiting outside with Tyler in his car seat carrier. I got out the car first, whilst Lucy was still making sure the car was out of gear and with the parking brake on, and Jason came straight over to me and hugged me. I stood there slightly awkwardly, before hugging back.

'They've found them, they're all okay, they're throwing together a mission as we speak but there's a massive set back apparently,' Jason whispered to me.

'Why are we whispering?'

'They don't want to tell you about the set back in case it upsets you and you do something stupid,' He whispered. 'They don't want to tell Lucy or Ella either, but Ella saw it so she knows,' Jason told me.

'Do something stupid... like kill myself?' I asked in shock.

'No, you Muppet, like go by yourself to try and find them,' Jason added, pulling apart from me and walking over to Lucy, kissing her softly before pulling her into his side. They walked in together and I trailed behind wondering where Michael was. I got in the same lift as the couple who was speaking telepathically as we went up to the fifth floor – where I was this morning after Michael brought me in, and the doors whooshed open. Only one room was in use, and when I looked through the window I gasped.

Ella's face was covered in blood, the front of her shirt decorated in dripping red blood as she curled up onto her side, four blankets over her despite the heat of the summer as Joe held her hand.

'You up yet lazy?' Jason called to Ella.

'Don't be so loud, oh my God,' Ella muttered back and Joe smiled at her.

'It looks like you've eaten –' Jason said and Joe immediately frowned

'Do not finish that sentence, that is nasty on so many levels, stop that immediately,' Joe added and Jason frowned.

'You're still incredibly chilly Ella, but hey, we all knew you'd over do it, I was up here waiting for you since you left,' Jason said as he checked Ella's monitors, writing down her stats on the pad of paper. She was three degrees under the normal body temperature, but it was slowly on the rise. Since entering the room, and talking to Jason, her temperature had rose 0.2 degrees. It was slow, but it was getting there. 'Dude, clean your wife up.'

'Er, no thanks,' Joe added.

'He's scared of blood, remember, how _he_ hasn't fainted and been admitted to hospital I am still wondering about,'

Wait, Joe was scared of blood? The massive six foot something muscle wall was scared of blood? If I was approached in the street by him, I would have crapped myself and assumed my death. However, when you saw Joe around Ella or his kids he was completely different and so gentle it was almost mocking worthy.

'Okay, if he's so scared of blood how the Hell did he delivers Charlie?' Jason asked.

'Adrenaline most likely, he couldn't go in the bedroom until I cleaned up all the blood properly. It was hilarious. He also hates a certain time of the month,' Ella mocked.

'I don't,' He answered back.

Jason passed Ella a pack of wet wipes, and she opened them and started wiping the blood off her face. I wondered how she got them.

 _She gets terrible nosebleeds when she's stressed or when she uses her gift too much, or when it's too hot but I doubt it's that._ I heard Michael say telepathically to me, and his hand on my shoulder. He must have crept into the room behind me. _How are you doing?_

 _You found Nic?_ I replied back, not wanting to tell Michael that I was doing terrible but I had perked up a bit now he was back with the news that he had found our daughter. When I get Nic back, she can call me Mummy as much as she wants. She can have the whole world and I won't mind a single bit.

 _Yeah, we're just giving Ella time to be good again and we'll work on getting her out._

 _Out of where? Where is she? Is she safe?_

 _She's safe. But where she is - that's the problem._ Michael said full of concern.

'Where are the girls, then? Where are Lily and Nic?' Lucy asked, sitting next to Jason on the sofa, their sides touching each other.

'We found them, they're being cared for nicely, we're just working on finding how to get into where they are,'

'And they are where exactly,' Lucy probed, frowning, like she was starting to suspect something.

'We think they're in Kingdom,' Ella said looking at Joe, who just frowned slightly having already heard the news. He held her hand a bit tighter. I wasn't too sure why everyone was reacting badly about this place called Kingdom, but then I realised what Lucy had told me only a few minutes previous. Kingdom was the place where she was abused as a kid, forced to be a slave and a sex worker to her own family friends. I looked over at Lucy, who had gone extremely pale and into shock as Jason turned to her, holding her hand tight and closing his eyes, and a few second later she was responsive.

'What do you mean, Kingdom, you – you told me the buildings were empty,' She asked Michael.

'They are empty, this is a new building in Devon,' Michael explained to her and a tear rolled down Lucy's cheek.

'My family...' She whispered angrily.

'We don't know it's your family behind the attacks,' Joe tried to comfort her.

'You do, they run Kingdom. Oh God,' Lucy said curling up in herself. 'This is my fault,' She started crying and Jason hugged her.

'This isn't your fault, Luce,' He whispered to her. He quickly checked the car seat where Tyler sat, asleep, before he sat down next to her and hugged her.

'It's my family,'

'They are not your family now, Lucy, we're all your family,' Michael said firmly to her and she shrugged.

'They did this to you, I'm so sorry,' Lucy said. A moment passed and suddenly she got up and ran out the room and went down to the hallway.

'We'll look after Tyler, go talk to her,' Michael said and Jason just nodded, before running out the room to find her.

'She didn't take that too well,' Ella muttered sadly.

'She wasn't going to take the news well Ella, in any circumstance. If they had taken Tyler too, she would have had to go back and face her Dad and brother again, and I can bet they aren't too pleased with the stunt you lot pulled in Norway days before your inevitable death,' Michael said, sitting on the foot of the bed. He pulled me to sit next to him as Ella hoisted herself up to sit as well, legs off the end of the bed and her calves touching Joe's knees.

'So what do we do now?' I asked them all.

'We go kindly knock on the door, and ask for our children back,' Joe said and it took me a moment to realise he was being serious.

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 **Kingdom – ?**

The boy sat on the edge of the bed, a bowl of salty water on his lap with a thin bit of muslin cloth already soaking. The two girls were sleeping in the same bed, too scared to leave each other's side for more than a few seconds. He felt extremely sorry – they were just children, why did they have to get pulled into this ongoing fight? But something deep down inside of him reminded that he had to be strong for the girls sake, because he is busting them out of here if it's the death of him. They were just kids, they didn't deserve this. They didn't know what their parents had done wrong to get them into this situation. Really, their parents didn't do wrong at all. And that was the thing that got to him. It was the Leader who had done wrong and had spent years trying to correct the mistakes. It just got messy because children were now involved.

Gently, the man rung out the muslin cloth before gently waking up the girl. She jumped awake, like she was on edge in her dreams previous, her brown hair flowing down in a smooth river as she looked at the man, flinching away.

'Hey, it's just me, I'm sorry,' The man whispered to the girl.

'Is Mummy and Daddy here yet?' She muttered, hugging her home made teddy to her chest. The man had tried all attempts to make them feel at home here. No, not at home. Safe. Make them feel safe here. This isn't there home – it was his new mission to get them home. He had enlisted help from his closest friend, and both of them hoped to explain to Ella and Michael everything before they shot them.

'Not yet, but they will be soon,' He whispered.

'I can't play clouds,' She whispered to him, checking to make sure her cousin and best friend was asleep, hugging the tea towels he had tied together to make it look like a teddy.

'What else can you do?' The man asked her, not wanting to be too invasive before this moment. He had been their temporary guardians for little under twenty hours now, and had already convinced the girls that he was on their side and he won't let anyone hurt them. Layer on his gift, and there were starting to believe him. Thank God for his gift in persuasion.

'I can... make flowers,' Nic told him.

'That's incredible,' The man told her.

'Do you know Daddy?' Nic immediately asked and he frowned. He wanted to tell her the truth but she's just four, she won't understand what was happening. In all honesty, I don't think Michael or Ella will know what was happening when this all came out from the dark, with their kids safely back to them.

'Yeah, I know your Daddy,' It had been a long time since the Man had last seen Michael. A long time indeed.

'Why isn't he here?'

'He doesn't know where you are, sweetheart,' The man attempted to explain, 'I've sent him a letter, he should be able to find you soon,' and hopefully, save him from the Kingdom of Hell he's been trapped in for years. 'I'm just going to clean your cut again, is that okay?' He asked the girl and she nodded.

Carefully, not to hurt the fragile child, he undid the bandage, flinching when he saw the gash on her forehead. If he wasn't careful, it would become badly infected and he wasn't sure the men in charge at Kingdom would permit taking her to a hospital. Perhaps. He overheard them saying the two girls were their most powerful assets. He squeezed out the cloth, gently dabbing around the gash.

'This may hurt, Nic, just hold your teddy, okay sweetheart?' the man told her and she nodded. He rinsed the cloth once more before running it over the gash several times as the girl flinched, made a sharp squeal of pain as the salt entered the cut before tearing up. Quickly, he pulled out the tube of anti-inflammatory cream and rubbed some on a roughly cut portion of plaster padding, before wrapping it back around her head.

'Sorry, Nic, I'm so sorry,' He muttered to her, 'Do you want to go back to bed?' He said. He had been told they were his new family, and he was okay with that. The two children were adorable, and since he knew both sets of parents – Michael with Nic, and Ella with Lily – he could see the genetic link between them. Kingdom had told him to think of the girls as his new extended family.

From that moment, he knew they were his extended new family.

* * *

 **Hey!**

 **What do we think so far? I keep getting really rude DM's about this and how infrequent it's updated and so on, and I dunno. Do you want me to continue?**


	29. Chapter 28 - Michael

**Chapter 28 – Michael**

After a few minutes of hesitation, the silence in the room felt uncomfortable. Joe just dropped the absolute bombshell that Sam had didn't know about – and that was we didn't have a plan get to girls back apart from just to go back and ask them.

Ella was speaking to Joe telepathically, and I just sat with my arm around Sam as she gently sobbed. She was scared. I understood that. I rubbed her upper arm apologising for all that had happened. Eventually, she calmed down and just sat there silently, biting her nails. Gently, I pulled her hand away from her mouth as she looked at me. She mumbled something and I frowned.

 _What did you say?_ I asked softly as Ella looked over at me, hearing the telepathy but she turned back around; continue to look at Joe as the talk between the two continued.

 _I remember,_ Sam replied.

 _Remembered what?_

 _A man came in through the window, telling me I wasn't as smart as my sister and they'd be me soon. What does that mean?_ She whispered to me and I frowned. _I don't have a sister._

So a man entered the house when I wasn't there, came in and told Sam she wasn't smart and they would see her soon? It must have happened just before she passed out as she could only remembered it now. However, Sam doesn't have any sisters – she has no relatives to her at all. She was dumped at Blakeley when she was just a four year old girl, and was fostered by two of the ground keepers there. So, if they say she had a sister, it means it was from before she was dumped at Blakeley. She had a complete family, potentially, somewhere, and if the man said that to my Sam – would that mean the person who is hunting for her, who had kidnapped our daughter, knew her family. Which made the entire thing worse. Was Sam's own family hunting Nic?!

 _I don't know, don't think too much about it,_ I told her. _I'll tell the boys next time we see each other._ I told Sam and she nodded.

The door to the hospital room closed again, and Jason walked back in looking slightly worse for wear. Everyone immediately stopped talking and looked over towards Jason, the absence of Lucy notable.

'She wants to talk to you,' Jason said to me and I just sat there. Talk to who? 'Michael,' Jason added, getting annoyed. Most likely because his fiancé wanted to speak to me and not him about something. But what did she want to talk to me about? Something about Kingdom?

'Where is she?' I asked, gently removing my arm from Sam's back.

'She's outside, on Hunter's bench,' Jason said, checking on Ella's stats as she just frowned at the situation at hand. I got up, walking out the hospital room deep in thought – what was wrong with Lucy that she wanted to speak to me. It only took a few minutes to walk down the stairs, scanning my swipe card to open the main door and headed right around the building, to the nursing garden full of zen fountains of green grass, seeing Lucy hunched over, her legs held to her chest staring at the trickling meditation fountain in the middle. I walked over, sitting hesitantly on the bench.

'This is my fault,' Lucy said. 'I should have stayed last year; they would have never got Lily or Nic,'

'This isn't your fault, Luce, you could never have stayed at Kingdom without risking your own life, you're not to blame for this,' I told her softly, realising that now Lucy was also blaming herself for the girl's disappearance as well as the events of last year.

'How are you so calm,' She whispered softly.

'I'm not, I'm really not,' I told her.

'You're keeping it together for Sam?' Lucy asked and I nodded. She sighed. 'Er, you know my gift?'

'Yeah, you just disappear,' I said and she smiled. She can do so much more than that now. Finding Jason really did help her gift develop and now she can make others disappear. Well, she doesn't just disappear from existence; Lucy can make a perspective shield around herself, objects, or other people who makes people believe nothing is there. For example, if you look up when you're in the garden you'll notice thing; the grass, paving slabs, fence trees and flowers, but you skim straight past the small dandelion stem that blends into the grass or the trees. Lucy can make everyone like those dandelion stems.

'Well, I had a dream... never mind, it'll be stupid,' Lucy whispered sighing as the sun had started to set, causing long shadows across the garden and a cool breeze had picked up.

'Tell me, you think it's important and I completely trust your judgement,' I told her and she smiled shyly.

'I can't see the future, but,' Lucy said before hesitating, debating about telling me about her secret. She must have told Jason – there are never any secrets between those two – and then said she wanted to tell me. So, Jason had no idea what to do with the information Lucy told him. What was going on, 'I...' She stalled before shaking her head.

'Lucy, perhaps you saw something for a different reason rather than a gift, what happened?' I asked her softly.

'I was back at Kingdom,' Lucy started to explain, 'Well, we were all there in Kingdom, in one of the big gyms, and my Dad was there, and my brother, and about sixteen others. We were outnumbered, but we still went there. My Dad was saying something to you and you was arguing back in a sophisticated manner. He said something about Sam and you went to protect her and he said,' Lucy sighed, hugging herself.

'Luce?' I muttered. She must have had this dream near enough as the girls were taken.

'That Sam is my sister,' Lucy muttered.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

It made sense, and it was incredibly uncanny at the same time. Combined with that Sam had just remembered a mere ten minutes before Lucy told me, I had to check it out. Without telling Sam or Jason, leaving them in the clear, I took Lucy into the ground floor and took a blood test from her as she flinched from the needle. I then also called Jason down to swab the inside of her cheek thinking it would be better for him to comfort Lucy as she started to get increasingly upset. My plan to not tell Jason went straight out the window when I realised how bad Lucy was doing mentally. They didn't take her son, but she was blaming herself and her coming into Jason's life and therefore ours too as the reason this was happening. Jason met me downstairs and I told him I was going to put into the lab to do a DNA test, more for Lucy's sake. I partially believed her, it seemed too uncanny, but she couldn't see the future so I was more hesitant. However, if the DNA test came back saying there is similar genetics between the two that would suggest they are siblings, I would believe her fully. It also linked up with what Sam said to me. Now I just had to convince Sam to allow me to do the test.

I walked into the hospital room, that had Sam hunched over on the armchair waiting for me. Joe and Ella had disappeared, with Ella most likely discharging herself when her temperature got up to her safe zone, and Jason couldn't force her to stay as he had removed the blood pack from her nose, which stopped her nosebleed.

'Sam,' I said as I came into the room and she jumped before she got up and hugged me, leaning her head into my chest. 'You okay?'

'What took you so long?' She whispered to me.

'Sorry,' Was all I could say to her question.

'What was wrong with Lucy, is she okay? Jason looked terrified when you called him down – is everything okay?' Sam asked me and I cut her panic off with a kiss.

'She's fine, Sam. Sit down for a moment,' I asked her, gesturing to the bed.

'Why?' She bit back.

'I don't think you'll want to be standing up when I do this,' I whispered to her, picking her up easily and placing her on the bed. She was surprisingly light. I had noted she had gained a bit of weight recently but it was due to her not constantly eating the shitty food they must have served at Blakeley. I had to send an angry email to the educational side of Maui, asking them what was in their lunch meals because it sounded terrible – and they were feeding it to thousands of kids too. However, I wouldn't tell Sam that she had put on weight as she was already self conscious about her body. She was bloody beautiful and it annoyed me that she couldn't see that.

'Michael, what is it, please just tell me,' Sam whispered, her pupils dilated in fear.

'It's nothing bad,'

'Then just tell me!'

'Lucy thinks you are her sister, and no, I didn't tell her about what you remembered either. Two completely different accounts,' I told her and I could her stopping what she was about to say as she looked away from me in shock.

'What...'

'Lucy had a dream about all of this before it happened, but her gift isn't seeing the future, but she was so concerned and her dream included... the girls going missing, and an argument but that doesn't matter...' I sighed, 'She wanted us to do a DNA test on her and you, just to see if you are sisters,'

'But, I've had dreams before and... wait... do... do you think we could be?' Sam whispered to me and I thought about it. Both Sam and Lucy had the same shade of brown hair with Lucy's is being lightened by the sun, and Sam's being longer. I hadn't noticed they looked similar before, but I could see it now; they were a few centimetres in-between their height, but they had the same eyes and cheekbones. But could I be looking for similarities now because the idea was in my head?

'It's possible,' I told her gently. 'Do you want to do the DNA text?' I asked her.

'I don't have much choice,'

'Sam, if you don't want to do it, then you're not doing it. You have all the choices in the world,' I told her and she hesitated.

'Do it,' She said.

'You sure?'

'Yeah, then we'll know what we're up against. I might gain a sister out of this,' Sam said and I got up from the bed, walking over to the medical supplies and finding a sterile needle and some small bottles used to keep the blood in. I came back over to her, sitting in front of her to type the tourniquet around the top of her arm.

'Don't look,' I said to her softly and she looked away as I gently poked the needle through her skin, finding a vein first time and collecting three vials of blood. I pulled the needle out slowly, replacing where the needle entered with a ball of cotton wall, before taking off the tourniquet and kissing Sam softly.

'Was that it?'

'Need a swab from the inside your cheek too,' I said, grabbing a cotton bud. It didn't take long for me to finish the sample, putting it back into the plastic tube it came in, filling in the details and calling a porter to take it down to the labs.

'How long until they know?' Sam whispered to me.

'A few hours, I guess, about twelve at the longest. It'll be rushed through,' I replied back to her and she nodded.

'And then I'll know if I have a family,' Sam laughed slightly, but it wasn't happy. She was wondering if it came back negative, if she'll go back to having no family.

'You won't ever have no family from now on in, you'll always have me and Nic, and Ella and Joe with their kids, and all of my cousins, aunts and Uncles too. I doubt there will be a lack of cards on your next birthday,' I whispered to her.

'Where are your cousins?' Sam asked, looking around like they were going to appear out of nowhere – like oddly dressed clowns. I frowned at her thought of the Benedict's. She had lived such a sheltered life in Blakeley she thought of the Benedict's as a clan of superhero's, and now she was older she viewed them as superhero's in clown outfits, never speaking or making a media fuss but always running the circus that was the Savant Net.

'They should be down in the hall,' I told her.

'Let's go,'

'Sam, are you sure you're okay to walk? You should sit down and have some tea or something after a blood test, or any amount of blood loss – when you give blood they make you have a coffee or something. You can go into shock, start shaking -' I told her cautiously.

'No, I was to find my daughter, let's go,' Sam insisted, standing up and walking straight out the room and I followed, grinning. That's my girl.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

We arrived back on the main sight of Maui as the clocks turned nine, and the full weight of the last twenty four hours from Nic going missing has started to drain me. We wouldn't be able to move out tonight as Susan would have to personally sign the paperwork herself confirming the mission had been assigned from the top, and we didn't even have a plan. I pulled up outside the building, parking perfectly in the bay before frowning as I noticed Saul and Karla was standing outside the building. Perhaps they were heading to bed in a local hotel or somewhere? It must have been a long time for them too, and they would be jetlagged.

I turned off the engine and Sam got out the car first, ready to face everyone with her desperation to find Nic after hearing she might be related to the people who run Kingdom. Personally, if I was told I was related to the Luman Carnes and had a place in his mass murdering, crime committing society who kidnapped twenty four people, murdered two dozen more before kidnapping school children too, I would not be doing as well as she is now.

Karla came down the stairs and headed straight for Sam, before encasing her in a very motherly embraced. Sam just looked horrified and slightly confused, awkwardly hugging her back.

'You must be Sam, I never got to say hello earlier,' Karla whispered to her.

'Er,' Sam said slightly awkwardly.

'You look so much like Lucy, but you two aren't related, are you?' Karla asked her. A normal throw away comment that just really packed a punch with how relevant it was.

'Karla,' I said as she looked at me, frowning. I just shook my head and dropped my shields so she could have a quick look as to why I sent the warning message. I could feel her soft touch before she receded and I pulled my shields straight back up again.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, Sam,' Karla said.

'It's okay,' Sam said, and I knew Sam assumed she was on about her losing Nic, whilst Karla was actually apologising for her potential genetics to Luman Carnes. I could see Karla surveying her, wondering if she would do anything bad but on realising she would never even hurt a fly, but rather insisted on catching them and taking them outside, Karla hugged her again.

'Okay, Karla, that's enough,' Saul said gently as Karla pulled away revealing a mildly shocked Sam in the mix. Saul offered his hand. 'I'm Saul, Michael's uncle, and this is Karla, it's lovely to meet you after all this time. Michael hasn't stopped speaking about you.'

'Thanks,' I said, slightly awkward as I locked the doors to my car. Sam looked over at me.

'We were just heading back to our hotel room, the boys said you know about the letter and you don't need us around anymore. You'll be okay?' Karla asked me. Letter? I frowned at her – what letter was she on about? Either way, the Benedict's said it was fine and they sent their parents home. It was probably just to confirm the kidnapping and to file the report.

'This is kinda what I do for a day job,' I said softly to her, hugging her.

'Of course, you're not that pewny little boy anymore,' Karla said, pulling me down to kiss my cheek. 'Be safe, won't you? And look after the boys?'

'When wouldn't I look after them?' I teased back and she hit my arm.

'Come on, Saul, there is a warm bath with my name on,' Karla said, clutching her handbag to the side and walking over to a rental car they got from somewhere – a marginally old Vauxhall Corsa, which had a dodgy green colour to it.

'You have my best wishes,' Saul said to Sam, hugging her briefly before following his wife. I went over to Sam's side of the car as she watched shocked.

'They do that,' I told her softly. 'Their way of welcoming you into the family,'

'I'm part of the family?' Sam whispered.

'Oh yeah, you've been part of the family for easily a month now,' I told her, hugging her.

There was a slight touch on my leg and I jumped slightly, pulling away. Poppy was right next to me, looking up to me with soulful brown eyes, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail.

'What's wrong Poppy?' I asked her softly, crouching down so she could talk more easily.

'Uncle Michael, Mommy asked if you can come in, because, because they have a letter,' Poppy said to me shyly before running back in.

'Phee has a letter?' Sam asked me confused. 'Karla mentioned a letter –'

'I have no idea, let's go find out what this letter is.' I said, bombarding up the stairs and into the fire exit that had been propped open allowing everyone in the hall easy access out. Ella was waiting by the door, tears in her eyes as she handed me the letter. Frowning, I opened the folded letter. The first line, big and bold, was extremely obvious and made my heart sink and my gut retch.

 ** _We have your children, and if you want them to live, do as I ask._**


	30. Chapter 29 - Michael

**Chapter 29 – Michael**

I frowned at the letter, eyes blurring slightly as I reread the first line. I looked up at Ella, who was standing in front of me, nibbling the corner of her thumb as Joe hugged her to his side. Sam was beside, frowning, and I lowered the letter slightly so we could both read it at the same time – and I9 put my arm around her waist as she gasped, reading the exact first line I had just done twice;

 ** _We have your children, and if you want them to live, do as I ask._**

I unfolded the rest of the paper, and in the bottom two thirds of the letter, the paper that was tucked behind the main fold that left the passive aggressive order, had smaller writing in a smaller ballpoint pen. I frowned at Ella and she nodded at the paper.

 _Michael, Ella, it's been a while. I hope you are both okay, safe. I have Nic and Lily with me. They are healthy, safe, and alive. I'm not too sure what they plan for them, but I'm keeping them with me for as long as I can. If Ella's gift works the way I remember, she should be able to track down where we are in Devon. I'm not too sure where, it's been years since I've been allowed out, but I know we're near the ocean, and we're partially underwater – if not my floor than the bottom half is. There is always flooding down there. I know we're in the middle of nowhere; no one ever comes past us. No one knows we're here. The security is heavy though. If you manage to track us down, go through miles of country roads, several layers of armed security, break through and head up to whichever floor, you wouldn't be able to find the room. They used one of the girls gifts, she's dead I think, they used the law and physics of her gift to make up technology to hide all the rooms. The floors are big, identical, no windows. I don't know which room I'm in, despite me wanting to help. I'm sorry._

I frowned – who was this person, how do they know me and my sister, and why were they trying to help us? I moved onto the bottom third.

 _They haven't mentioned a plan to contact you but I haven't been listening in on the plans, but they will hang on to the girls for a week or two before contacting you to come get them with a ransom of some sort, I am sure. Perhaps get in before them, use the cliffs as cover. There is a good entrance down on the cliffs, it's patrolled but it's the safest option. I will keep the girls safe, until them. Change over on patrol shifts happens at four, and guards are on twelve hour shifts. However, during the night, the guard have a gift for sensing human presence and energy so try attacking during the day. Tomorrow, get to the coast for half three, wait until change over and follow the guards going off duty as they would have handed over their weapons. The staff tunnel will lead to the ground floor basement. I have a member of cleaning staff on my side, her name is Barrian and she will leave a phone down there, use that to call me. I'll take the girls into the staff lift, and meet you down there. We can use the same tunnel to come out. I understand if you don't trust me, but this is the only way to get the girls out before a ransom._

 _C._

I had to read the letter again, frowning. This person whoever it was was trying to get Nic and Lily out of Kingdom. Was he writing from Kingdom, he was the one who was looking after the girls?

'It could just be a massive hoax,' Zed said.

'I doubt it,' I said. If it was a hoax, the letter would be in a cohesive order. It also matched up with what Ella saw, layer of securities around the front in the middle of the cliff. However, if they lived there, they would have known that. However, I did think it was weird that someone was assigned to look after the girls. We could sense the girls were at not at any stress from being left alone, and the gentleman who was looking after them was being kind, helping them treating their injuries, and they were somewhere safe. Protected by this man who claims to know it.

'I followed the pen trail back to when it was first used; it was written by the man, who is looking after Nic and Lily, and at the time, both of the girls were up and all three of them were talking. Whoever it is, he's won the trust over the girls which isn't a simple task,' Trace said, 'He was writing it down in secret, and he got away with sending it here via a courier because of the statement on the top, he showed a similar letter with just that,' he gestured to the thick black writing at the top, written with the same marker, 'to the guard and they said it was all good to go, so he swapped the letters around to the one you have now, and then they sent in telekinetically up there,' Trace said.

'Telekinetically from Devon?' I asked.

'Guessing an extremely strong telekinetic power,'

'You think they're sincere?'

'People can't ever leave from Kingdom,' Lucy said quietly from the corner – she looked incredibly feeble, Jason standi ng next to her giving her support that she needed to even speak about her past. 'When I was there, there was at least twenty people who wanted to leave but couldn't, it's very possible for this C person to want to escape, so he's helping the kids out too.' Lucy added.

'So we all think this is legit?' I asked as I handed Sam the letter, hugging her to my side as I knew her reaction wouldn't be a good one. She reread the letter again but remained silent.

'It's a legit as you get, this guy is genuine and he wants to get out, and he wants to bring the girls back to you,' Victor told me.

'So, we're going to follow those timings?' I asked. It seemed stupid, and if it was fake and was a tactic to get caught, we'd get caught red handed.

'Yeah,' Ella said, 'if it's real, then brilliant, we get the girls and Mr. C, and leave and if it's to get us caught, we'll be going into the heart of Kingdom without worrying to break in,' She said.

'You might not come out uninjured,' Lucy whispered tentatively. Jason put him am around her.

'You'd have to be extremely careful,' Jason added.

'We could just take the people, who are trained,' Victor added. That would make a grand total of about five people who had secret service training.

'No, anyone who wants to go, will go, I think this will come down to gifts rather than just experience,' Ella added as Joe bent down to pick up Charlie who had woken up in the same time, making some cute noise that I'm sure meant to a parent but nothing to me.

'Of course, only people who would want to go,' Victor added.

'Duh, I'm not stupid, so who wants to go and get their nieces back?' Ella said. All of her brothers chimed in agreement, with Sky and Crystal agreed. Phee must have said something telepathically to Ella as she just nodded a small smile on her face. Lucy and Jason looked at each other.

'We're going,' Lucy said and Jason frowned at her. He clearly wasn't happy with the choice but he didn't argue.

 _I'm going,_ Sam told me and I immediately frowned down at her.

 _Sam..._

 _Don't, because I won't change my mind. You can't make me stay; I'm going with you to get Nic and Lily back._

 _Sam, you do understand how dangerous this is? You've had no experience of seeing this type of the world. Not all Savant's are like the ones who go to Blakeley. This is dangerous, Sam. This can all turn incredibly nasty extremely quickly._

 _Don't care. I'm going._

 _I love you._ I said to her, hugging her as everyone else started talking, knowing that no one was still awkwardly hanging away. I looked down at her at the same time she looked up and I bent down and kissed her softly.

 _I love you too,_ She said back, her eyes with a tint of happiness that I hadn't seen since last night, before Nic had gone and we had that argument. _I can't do any of this without you._

 _I am never leaving you,_ I told her softly.

 _Please, please don't._

 _If you think I am leaving your side ever again, you are deeply mistaken. Oh, and letting Nic out of my peripheral view. Sam, you really are my everything now and one day when we're both ready I will want to marry you and have our own kids, and then they too will not be allowed out of my view either. I know you think this is awful and it's caused by me or you moving up here, but I promise you this doesn't happen very often at all. I'm sorry,_ I whispered to her.

 _This wasn't your fault, this wasn't either of ourselves fault, so let's just get to this weird cliff top place, save our daughter and then we'll discuss getting married and having more kids,_ Sam told me

 _You're telling me what to do for once, I could totally get used to this._ I smiled at her.

 _It'll happen more, don't worry,_ Sam joked, pushing me slightly to get me to follow everyone else who had started to make their way into another meeting room, this one completed out with computers, projectors and everything else we will need to find our way into the building.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

 **22:37pm**

After nearly an hour and a half of strategically planning, we had given up. We had no satellite footage of the caves near the location, and even Google maps had nothing. There was little to no plan apart from hoping this "C" guy, who we've started to refer to as Cactus, would fulfil his plans. However, we had got a bit more information from the buildings as Lucy offered to draw out what can remember.

'So, if Cactus was right, he wanted us to meet him here,' She gestured to the bottom of the diagram. Her and Yves had been working together, so whenever she drew something on the tablet she had in front of her, which had the outline of the building shape in a CAD-style program, it would appear in layers through holograms in the middle of the desk. I had been watching with interest as she had started to draw layers and layers of floors, which were neatly stacked on top of each other until she had a tower, about forty floors high, the majority of the floors were below ground. The ground floor basement as mentioned in the letter as the ground floor, which was used as more of a storage facility. Lucy recalled having to go down there in the Kingdom she grew up in (and as the building was a replica, not much would have changed) to get the linen for the rooms and to wash the used clothing from the day previous.

'What was the security like?' Joe asked her, looking at the floor. Set in a hexagon, the side closest to Joe, labelled Wall C, was a corridor, heading from approximately the middle of the floor out into the surrounding area. This must be the staff tunnel to the cliffs like the letter suggested.

'Strangely enough, quite basic,' Lucy said, highlighting the end of the corridor in the middle, 'These are just swipe card doors, using basic magnetic strips on identity cards. It only unlocks for the guard and the serving staff who work with fabrics, so more often than not maids. The corridor would continue down to an opening,' Lucy said, scrolling on the tablet to make the holograms move. A small rectangular box was too one side. 'The goods deliveries would be taken to here, unpacked to be transferred through into holding. The bottom five floors were assigned a different use; the bottom was textiles as it took up less space. The one above was cleaning, then food, then electronics and the top one was fighting equipments so these men will have access to guns,' Lucy said. When she knew what she was talking about, her confidence was ruthless. 'The tunnel will just continue out to the cliff, I guess, if it was similar to the one in Sussex, ours led to a little outhouse like building, and everything was taken in there. It was three miles away, so no one even linked the two places,'

'Any idea how Cactus would get down there?' Victor asked.

'Well, it all depends. There are four independent lifts working in the building, and two staircases,' Lucy said, zooming back into the holographic map. 'Can we get a top view?' She asked Yves nervously.

'Of course,' He assured her, and the hologram zoomed in on a bird eye view. Lucy swiped down on the tablet, which led to a random floor in the middle.

'The middle is the main lift shaft, which goes straight from the ground floor basement up to the penthouse, but that is only ever used by Him, and his posse. The doors to each floor are hidden behind fake walls, but it's hardly ever used. The emergency staircase, which was by wall A, goes straight down to the middle floor entrance, which in my Kingdom led out onto a large patio type area, I assume in this one would head out onto the secured area that is patrolled. The staircase continues down into the ground floor basement too, but it's unlikely for him to use that. The other three lift, which are here, here and here –' She gestured to the three lifts which were set out like the points on the peace sign 'All work based on codes given to you, each member has their own unique code which changes every month, and when you use it they clock you where you go. Unless you're high up, and then you're trusted,' She explained to us. 'I never got that, obviously,'

'Where do you think the room is, Luce?' I was the one to ask the next question.

'Going on what Trace said about the design of the room, it sounds like it'll be in these few floors,' She showed us a fragment of floors 32 through 36, which were six floors above the canteen, four above the two gyms, and the one below was a seemingly empty room of which Lucy didn't add any drawings too.

'My only guess would be it's one of these four, the room had two bedrooms which is a luxury given to couple who have children. You keep your child for the first year or two before they are taken away to be raised separately. You get an hour a day with your kid, that's it,' Lucy sighed slightly. 'But there are four rooms on each of the floors, each with two bedrooms, identical layouts, it sounds like Cactus is in one of them with the girls. There are no windows, so he can't locate where he is. I doubt he's lying. But if he has kids, he would be allowed to roam around Kingdom freely. It also suggests he's quite high up for having the responsibility to look after the girls, so he could just say he's grabbing some more bed linen as one of the girls had an accident and no one would think twice about it,'

'I know it's asking about, but do you remember the telepathic shield around the place?' Victor asked and she nodded.

'It's like a bubble, no one outside can get in, and no one inside can get out. But you can use it inside,' Lucy added.

'So Ella you could project and find the girls if Cactus made a no show?'

'She would be able too, but it may set off detections. No one in Kingdom had a gift like Ella that I can remember, and they have electromagnetic shields that if a gift that isn't recognised, or recognised as foreign, is used, it set the place on lockdown,' Lucy added.

'Good God girl, I am surprised with your memory,' Victor said and Lucy smiled shyly.

'It's the only thing I can do to help,' She whispered shyly as Jason hugged her slightly. She yawned as she sat back, using the back of her hand to cover her mouth.

'Thank you, Lucy, you can go to sleep if you want too,' I said, realising how tired she is.

'I want to help,'

'I think we should all go and get some rest, none of us will be any use if we want to take naps in the laundry bins,' Xav joked, jumping up which made Crystal jumped, where I guess she was half asleep.

'It's a valid point,' Joe added. I watched as everyone started filling out, everyone saying to have a good night to the other as if we knew most of us would be too stressed to consider sleeping, and those who had kids would be clutching them a bit tighter. Saul and Karla, who was staying behind tomorrow with Phee, agreed to keep a close eye on all the children; Poppy, Charlie and Tyler, whilst we were off getting back Sam and Lily. Ella had written down on a small scrap of paper that Phee was pregnant again which is why she had to sit this one out again and only going in the second boat just in case rather than into the building with us, and I nodded. It seemed obnoxiously rude to invite along someone who was pregnant, and force them to do something that would risk the foetus' life. Jason and Lucy were the next to leave, heading to one of the bungalows at the back of base. We would be heading down there soon, so we would be close to Maui if any development came through. The results of the DNA tests were still waiting to come through, and we told them to send the results straight to Lucy's phone, and my phone as Sam's wasn't registered to Maui.

'I'm off too,' Ella said, stretching. 'Not like I'm sleeping,' She sighed, rubbing her eyes. She was holding it together well. Saying that, I did catch her crying to Joe earlier. She likes to maintain an image that she's okay to everyone, and whilst I've seen her break that shield to me, this time she didn't. But her strength, even though it was just an image, made me feel more confident and did miracles to Sam too. Joe came up behind her, pulling her towards him and kissing her forehead.

'Night,' Joe said to me and I smiled back.

'Night,'

I waited until I heard the door close before looking down at Sam, who had been curled up to me the entire meeting process, to see she was already asleep, head snugly resting against my chest, my jumper over her shoulders, and her hand resting on my leg. I smiled. Despite being the worst scenario imaginable, I've never been happier and most of it originates around finding my Soulfinder and my long lost daughter, too.


	31. Chapter 30 - Sam

**Chapter 30 – Sam**

I jumped awake in cold sweat and clammy fear and had to immediately place myself where I am.

However, I had no idea where I was. It looked like a wooden cabin; photos were hanging on the wall. I frowned, the wall that I was facing had two built in wardrobes, only shown by small handles on the front. A small chair sat beside my head, with my phone resting on it, and a glass of water was on the floor beside my head. I looked behind my feet, seeing a dresser with a dusty mirror on top, some more generic photos on the walls or beaches and a painted elephant, and not much else. There was a soft light behind me.

'Sam, you okay sweetheart?' I heard someone say and rolled over. Michael was sitting beside me, his back against the headboard and his legs crossed as he was on his tablet device, but he frowned down at me. He had glasses on – since when did he wear glasses? Was I a terrible person for noticing he never wore glasses?

'Yeah,' I muttered as he frowned. 'What time is it?'

'Half three,' He said softly. 'You've been asleep for a while,'

I've been asleep for a while? I couldn't remember coming into this weird cabin in the middle of nowhere, my dreams had been bland but it was clear from my racing pulse, perspiration on my arms and face, and the desire to cry they must have been fuelled with nightmares. I couldn't remember the meeting we had. I remembered Lucy sitting there with an intense look of concentration on her face as she drew out the floor plans from Kingdom. We assumed if it was a duplicate building, like the one she had grown up in and the one in Norway, it must be exactly the same, just underground more. At some point, I must have fallen asleep but I cannot remember where.

'How long?'

'About four hours, perhaps five, you fell asleep in the meeting,' Michael said softly, running his hand through his hair in such a way it made him look incredibly sexy. I like the glasses.

'You wear glasses?' I asked him.

'I'm meant too for reading and writing, but I only use them in dark,' He told me softly. Clearly, I need to get him in the dark a bit more. Perhaps give him a really good book, and I get to see more of his glasses. 'You... like the glasses?'

'Yeah,' I replied and he frowned.

'I hardly ever wear them – I got bullied in school for them...'

'You – _you_ – got bullied?' I asked. How did he manage to get bullied? If he wasn't Nic's Dad, or my Soulfinder, I would not go within a few hundred yards from him.

'I got bullied badly, yeah, I wasn't always like this. I was always caught up with survivor's guilt that I lived, and everyone else in my family died apart from Ella, and that Ella suffered horribly and I was completely fine. It killed me off knowing that my little sister was in so much pain and I didn't do anything about it. She kept going in for operation after operation, and I was pretty much fine. I didn't focus at school properly, and I was always so awkward and not really paying much attention to anyone else. I had no friends really. I used to get followed home and beaten up on a weekly basis. School was rough for me,' Michael said, 'I powered on through though, but I always felt like I had an awful secret because of how developed my gift was so young. People's thoughts affected me, but it made me more motivated to get good grades and get out of that place when I could. I had a handful of good friends, but we never really kept in touch. Perhaps a few texts a week, that kind of friendship. They don't know what I do, just how much I changed,' He explained to me, putting down his tablet when talking to lie down next to me. As he spoke, I snuggled into his chest, his arm wrapping around me softly.

'I bet the school reunion was interesting,' I said and he laughed slightly.

'Oh, you have no idea. Everyone was watching me like I was about to run over and snap their necks,' He said softly.

'How is the plan coming along?' I ended up asking, the playful conversation too much to bare when so much was at stake – but it did take my mind off everything for a few minutes.

'We're going on what Cactus has told us. Every indication tells us he's genuine. We're leaving about ten tomorrow – well, this morning. We'll stop off at a port, use a boat to travel out and then scale the beach under the canapé of rocks to be outside for three thirty.' He explained. 'And, as you asked, you're coming with.'

'What about Lucy?' I whispered.

'Nothing as of yet,' He replied and I frowned. 'These things take time, especially when something this big is going on too,'

'But I want too know, Michael, she would be _my sister_ ,' I told him, and I realised how desperate I was for someone to call my family. That's all I desperately wanted, someone to call my family. I had Michael and Nic, but I wanted to be normal. After years of growing up alone, I wanted someone here

'Your phone has been going off none stop, though,' Michael added, avoiding my demanding behaviour.

'I don't care,' I muttered curling into Michael. Him and Nic were the only two things I cared about, and with Nic gone, and Michael beside me, whoever was calling me was irrelevant.

'Why don't you just check your phone, someone really wants to get through to you,' Michael said softly. He was clearly concerned about it, but why I didn't know.

Sulking slightly, I rolled over and grabbed my phone, seeing miscalls and texts from staff at Blakeley who had only just heard about the whole story, they must have emailed all the staff them with a warning, and they were all trying to contact me, see if I was okay and so on. I sighed – it's been over twenty four hours from now when Nic had been taken – so news had managed to get out. It could be another twenty four hours until I had Nic back with me. And that was providing everyone enough anxiety – Ella and I just wanted our kids back. I've never seen Joe and Michael so on edge either. We all just wanted our girls back. Friends and acquaintances have been texting me for the last few hours, offering support and asking how I was. One or two close friends had tried to call in the evening.

However, there was seven miscalls from Tobias.

I drew my breath in when I saw it, and immediately tried to get them off my screen. Michael gently held my wrist, stopping me from moving.

'Sam, perhaps talk to Tobias,' Michael whispered to me and my only thought was traitor. 'He's tried calling me, he's worrying about Nic, he told me to tell you he wants to apologise,'

I stared at Michael like he's turned into a fish doing a tap dance and had started to speak in Korean. This was the guy who tried to split us up, convince me that Michael is a terrible human but Michael had almost forgiven him? He was trying to get me to call him.

'He's worried about Nic, he's helped you out when I couldn't and for that I owe him,' Michael said looking at me with puppy dog eyes and I felt my stomach fluster. It was the glasses, too.

I sighed. He was right – of course Michael was right. Annoyed knowing that he was right, I curled up into him hoping that hug time meant no calling Tobias time, I rested my head against his chest and sighed. God damn him. If I didn't love him, I wouldn't be doing this. Also, it was completely not fair for him to use the puppy dog eyes on me. Both him and Ella had round eyes, which just look stunning on them both but they can easily do the whole "puppy dog eye" trick, which put me on edge because I would do anything Michael wanted me to do when he gave me that look? Buy him lunch – already on it. Have our own kid together – I'm so ready for that? Kill the bastard who took our Nic from us as she slept in her own bed, her toys around her – oh yeah, I would do that in seconds.

'He might be asleep,' I whispered feebly.

'He won't be, I think you know that too,' Michael replied back and I screwed up my nose. Did I mention I don't like him being so reasonable?

I sighed, dialling his number and putting it on speakerphone and resting it on my chest, so Michael would be able to hear every word of the conversation.

Tobias picked up on the second ring.

'Oh thank God Sam, how are you doing? How are you coping?' Tobias asked when the phone call finally connected – I didn't even greet him into the phone call.

'I'm doing okay,' I whispered and my voice sounded strained even to me. Michael, when realising this, hugged me a bit tighter, running his fingers up and down my hip, the physical reassurance that he was there for me made me able to face what Tobias would start to bring into this conversation.

'Have you found Nic yet?' He asked in a very civil manner.

'Er, we roughly know where she is. We're leaving in the morning to head down there, and someone on the inside is hopefully bringing her and Lily out...' I said before biting my lip. This all seemed very fairytale and best possible scenario.

'You're going tomorrow? That's so long any,' Tobias said.

'Today, Sam, we're going today,' Michael whispered to me softly and I frowned at the time – we were in the very early hours of the new day. I heard Tobias breath heavily on the other end of the phone.

'Oh. Is he there?' Tobias said.

'Yes, of course he's here. I love him, Tobias, and he is doing everything he possibly can to get Nic and Lily back, it's his job.' I said, not looking at Michael but rather his impeccable body, the lines of his muscles, the little dips by his hips heading towards his boxers – I was very well acquainted with those lines.

'Who's Lily?' Tobias asked and Michael sighed, sounding annoyed.

'Our niece,' I said and Michael grinned into my hair, kissing my forehead. Lily had started to call me her auntie, and Michael had told me that she was my niece now too.

' _Our?_ What are you, married already with mister perfect?' Tobias snapped.

'Don't you even dare, without him Nic and Lily would have been lost for good, and I would have continued struggling. Don't take the moral high ground because it's easy, because there are still fifty miles between us, you're not here struggling.' I hissed back at him, so pissed off he was acting like a spoilt brat.

'I'm coming with you to get her,' Tobias said.

'No,' Michael simply said.

'No, you're not,' I repeated down the phone.

'Yes I am, you can use my gift,'

'I don't see how working out number sequences will help us get two girls out from a hostage situation,' I sighed.

'You know what I use my gift for, and yeah it is mathematics, but my gift is actually to sense and to anticipate, I know what's going to happen a few minutes before it does in a situation. Which is why I like number patterns and algebra, because I can always work it out, knowing the answer before I worked it out.' Tobias told me. So he cheated, effectively.

'Hang on,' I put the phone on mute and looked at Michael.

'It might come in handy if I don't kill him before we get down there,' Michael sighed.

I knew Michael hated Tobias because Tobias was an asshole towards me. That much was evident. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael was quite anxious around Tobias too because he knows how much Tobias liked me, or if he still does like me, and I had to wonder what he must see when he looks into Tobias' mind – that would drive him insane going down to Devon. If my Michael would read Tobias' mind, and he was thinking about me, would he be able to remain calm and collective, or would he freak out? Could I trust Michael not to get into a fight?

I trusted him fully – it was Tobias I was worried about.

He would be spoiling for a fight with Michael, to prove his worth to me.

'I don't want him to hurt you,' I whispered.

'Oh, he won't hurt me, don't you worry about that. It'll be a tedious journey with him, but if he's so desperate to prove his macho, or use his gift to attempt to help Nic and Lily even though we have the fort covered, I guess we can make space for him in the boot,' Michael told me. 'If he wants to come, he had to be by the gates for six in the morning, and we'll supply him with everything he needs.'

I unmated the call.

'Fine, but be at the gates of Maui for six, don't tell anyone you're coming, and we'll supply and tell you what you're doing when you're here. And you do not differ from the plan. We have planned it all down to the T – and you have no right or training to change it,' I told him as Michael kissed the top of me.

'Okay, well, better get going then. I'll see you soon,' Tobias said and I hung up.

'Oh God, what have we done?' I sighed as Michael rolled over to be able to see me.

'You're so stressed,' He muttered.

'Yeah, well, aren't we all?'

'You're not going to be able to go back to sleep either, are you?'

'Nope,'

'Well, I'll run you a bath then,'

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

True to his word, Michael had jumped out of bed and wherever we were, he filled a bath for me. There was a few scented candles, some anti-stress and muscle relaxation bath bubbles he had added, and with no light coming from outside due to the early morning, the entire log cabin bathroom looked incredibly adorable. I stripped down, and climbed in the bath as Michael dubiously looked away – not like he hasn't seen it all before – before he came and sat next to the bath tub with me, gently playing with my damp hair. There was something incredibly tender about the way that he behaved, something I had never imagined when I first met him. I would have imagined him to cut down trees, or smash rocks with his bare hands. Not run his girlfriend baths in the middle of the night and stayed with her so she wouldn't get lonely. But I liked this, and I appreciated it fully.

'What happens when we get Nic back?' I asked him and he frowned. 'Like, do we get to take her home straight away?'

'No,' Michael told me. 'If we get the girls out, they'll be airlifted from the nearest heliport back to base with someone between them who is impartial to the case. I think Jason has already volunteered to head back with them, so if they have any injuries he's on board to heal them. They'll then go into hospital, have a full medical check and they'll be asked in the playhouse nursery place what had happened, basically, but a child friendly way. Once we get their statements, we'll be allowed to see them but they have to stay on base for a day or too, so they are kept completely safe. We'll be staying in one of these cabins together – they're far enough from the Maui base to have some privacy but not too far away that we're still on the campus,' He explained and I sighed. 'I just want her back,' He muttered.

'You're a brilliant Father, Michael, I know I've mentioned it before in a throw away comment, but honestly, you're doing so well and you really are a great Dad,' I told him and his face lit up. He leaned forward and gently kissed my forehead.

'I love you,' He told me, gently rubbing my arm.

'I love you too,' I muttered, relaxing in the bath so much my eyelids were heavy.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

I must have fallen asleep again, as Michael was the one to wake me up. He carried me from the bathtub back to the bed, and now he sat next to me tying to wake me up again.

'Hey, Sam,' He said softly. 'It's half five,'

'Too early,' I muttered, hugging the duvet around my naked body.

'Well, Princess will be down here at six,' Michael told me, before he picked me up, folding the blanket around me and putting me on his lap. 'Then we're leaving at half nine to get down there and get ready for three.' He said and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

'We've got time?' I asked him and he frowned.

'For what?' He asked before realising exactly what I was on about. 'Well, if not, we can be late for Princess,' Michael grinned, before kissing me and pulling me in closer.

It was about half six that we got a text from Tobias saying he was outside the gates of Maui, and we were forced to put our clothes on. They were near enough identical – with myself in black leggings and a thin black shirt that hug to the very limited figure I had, and Michael in black tight jogging bottoms and a black vest-type shirt which clung nicely to his body. Without even checking into base, we got into the Maui Jeep that Michael had the key too, with me riding shotgun curled up slightly, part from sheer exhaustion, part happiness, and just confusion. Michael gently took to keeping his hand on my thigh as we drove, which calmed me down. I believed in Michael. He seemed confident that we could do this I trusted him entirely. Slowly, down a really long dirt track we pulled up at the gates. Sure enough, Tobias was on the other side of the fence, sitting on the grass as we pulled up. On hearing the car, he stood up and turned around.

'Scan him in with his pass,' Michael said, passing over a scan card with the word PRINCESS TIARA on the top, where it asked for the name, 'What, I had to have my fun somehow,' He said, grinning at me. I frowned at him, wondering how good his self control is.

'I wouldn't worry about my self control – I didn't kill Joe when he knocked my sister up,' Michael said. His self control must be alright, then. I could only assume how pissed off he was when Ella told him. It's either that, or Ella stuck to Joe like a clam to a rock in high tide, and didn't let go – he couldn't throttle Joe if Ella was stuck to him. 'Just stick it through the gate so he can let himself and his ego through,'

I continued looking at him, wondering if Tobias would make it back out those gates alive. Michael was known to be volatile with anger, and now he was missing his daughter who had substantially calmed his anger and ego down, would he be able to remain calm. Even though he said he didn't kill Joe when Ella was pregnant, Ella told me the truth. He would have killed Joe if Ella had left his side. Ella had to be a clam. Joe had even told me how pissy he was when Ella was in hospital after the whole bomb threat against them mission of which they met each other. Michael had refused to even toy with the idea that Joe and Ella were together, and even when Joe told him they were Soulfinder's he didn't overly believe it and he waited for Ella to wake up to grill her, to which she told her brother to piss off. I trusted Michael, but not when it came to this. But, I didn't trust Tobias either. Why?


	32. Chapter 31 - Michael

**Chapter 31 – Michael**

On hearing Sam's thoughts, I realised she was a hundred percent true to her thoughts. She knew she could trust me completely but not when it came to Tobias, and as unreasonable as it sound it was completely true. If Tobias even took one look at Sam more than I had expected, I would crush his skull. Well, perhaps not. I would tolerate comments against me, and against other Maui workers as he viewed us as parasites, but anything against Nic, Lily or Sam, or my family, I wouldn't be able to control myself. Sam continued to watch me as I dipped into Tobias' brain. Mixed into the worry for Nic, and Sam too, there was quite a bit of bad will against me. However, he forgets what I looked like and thought I was five foot five, with a very sleek build. He clearly dehumanised me in his brain to make his thoughts of aggression towards me more realistic. To make him feel in control of this situation. He had always thought Sam would be his, but on finding out that Sam was mine, he hasn't taken it too well. Nor has he got over it. He assumed soon she would realise how terrible I was and come running back to him.

I hoped that wouldn't happen.

I looked back over to Sam, where she was still watching me cautiously.

'You can trust me,' I said with a fleeting smile.

'I so don't believe you,' She replied back, kissing me quickly before he undid her seatbelt and climbed out the car. I watched her in the rear view mirror until I realised she forgot to take Princess Tiara's pass to him. I quickly undid my seatbelt, grabbing the pass and opened the door. Sam had made it down to the barred gates which led onto base – the first layer of security and it was very rudimentary to make it look like a simple office base rather than the harsher, secretive reality that was locked away. The gate, however, were twenty feet in the air, painted with anti-grip paint, with a pattern that made it near enough impossible to climb over, bars too thin to climb through, and with barbed wire coils across the top that used an electric current to shock away any visitors. I felt sorry for the birds that landed there.

'Sam, his pass,' I called out from the car.

I saw Tobias look at me, with the same look that I've seen on predators in the wild. Vicious, powerful and all knowing - this is ironic, considering how much of a feeble wimp he is. But there was a slight look of fear as he realised I was more than what he remembered. I chucked the pass at Sam, using my telekinetic powers to fly it straight toward her hand and she caught it off reflex. She grinned at me for a moment then realised the look Tobias was giving me.

 _Please behave,_ She whispered to me.

 _I will behave, it's him you need to get to behave._ I told her before taking another dip in Tobias' brain before I pulled up short. He was shielding – heavily – and against me. No one knows how to do that apart from people who know the inside outs of my gift. I frowned at him – how does he know what my gift is? I keep it very secretive, as not many people is a fan when they find out you can completely mess with people's brains, make them unable to move, and make them obey your commands. Joe's gift after he met Ella was extremely similar to mine, and both of us kept it very secretive. I never use it, or if I did I only ever used it to eavesdrop but Tobias was completely blocking me out. I got back into my car, grabbing my phone and texting Ella what I had found out. Her reply came through immediately.

 ** _I trust him as far as I can throw him. I told Joe this the second I saw him, I don't trust him or any motives he has. Why you agreed for him to come along without even checking it with any of us I'll never know, but I don't trust him. Don't get too close to him, or at least until we know why he can block you out._** Ella replied back.

 ** _He might block me out because of a clash of gifts, or he's had training._**

 ** _Possible, however, I don't see why a mathematics teacher would need reconnaissance training like we do and why he would need to train to block out even the highest grade gift like yours and his gift is anticipation. If anything, it would work in sync. Joe's offered to try and get into his mind, and if he blocks out him we'll know something dodgy is up. He might expect you if he is dodgy, but not Joe. What does Sam think?_**

 ** _I haven't asked her, I don't think she'll toy with the idea._** I replied back honestly. Sam wouldn't appreciate me random eavesdropping on him, nor me suggesting he might be hostile towards us and not just me. But was this so farfetched? He might just be a really good shielder. He might have siblings who can do what I can do, and is always on guard. Was I just overreacting? Years of training didn't make this question any easier and I sighed.

 ** _I'll talk to him when he gets here, and get Sky to stand with me and see what she picks up too, if he's lying when we question about any training experience, Sky will pick it up._** Ella replied to me again and I put my phone down, seeds of doubt planting in my brain. It seemed impossible though. Perhaps I was just jealous? I knew how much he wanted Sam, my Sam, and I knew how much Sam respected him and how much he had done for her. Nic loved the guy, wanted to see him, and even when we were in class trying to set up Sam's new room for the Frimley base, and he came in to pass on messages or so on, Nic would hug him. I think Tobias had always seen himself as being part of the family in the future, but in the dark reality, he was nowhere near us. And he didn't like it.

And I didn't like him either, for what he's done to Sam.

The passenger door opened and Sam climbed in, giving me a slight warning look almost telling me not to speak before the back door of the car opened. Tobias climbed in, doing his belt up in the seat behind me so thankfully I couldn't see him in person – a tactic he must have been going for. However, I didn't miss the loved up look he gave my Sam. I nearly stalled the engine, but caught myself. Sam leaved over the gear stick for the car and gently kissed me, before giving a sideways look that told me to get the car started. Sighing, I put the car into first and took off the parking break, starting to speed up heading down the road to the main Maui building

'So, any luck finding Nic yet?' Tobias asked from the back. I opened my mouth to reply but Sam got there before me.

'A bit,' Sam said.

'Only a bit, I thought this guy was the top of his game?' Tobias said.

'He is, everyone needs time,' Sam stuck up for me.

'Even Mr Shining I'm better than everyone else?'

'Watch it, Princess,' I snarled back.

'Look, we all have the same common goal, and that's getting the girls back. So stop bickering, both of you,' Sam said.

'Sorry,' I muttered to her. My hand touched her thigh, and she dropped her hand to squeeze it. She wasn't blaming me for this.

'Sorry, Sam, I never meant to upset you,' Tobias added, and it suddenly felt like we were two of her teacher's pets, both vying for a place in her attention. Princess Tobias had to gone one above on everything I said. And then, I didn't care on top. I knew I love Sam, and she loves me back, and whatever happened with Tobias was in the past. They were never together, I got that, but Tobias always wanted more from her. He wanted her and still does and that was why I felt uneasy around him.

'Just... stop it,' Sam said, crossing her arms.

 _You pissed with me?_ I asked her telepathically just for reassurance and she shook her head very slightly.

 _No, him, he's being so unreasonable._ She sighed slightly. _I don't know what's got into him._

 _Extreme jealously and the sense of being alone has hit him hard,_ I told her.

'Sam,' Tobias said and she turned around. 'Why are you still with this lunatic?'

'Tobias, fuck sake,' Sam groaned, getting incredibly pissed off with his behaviour. I frowned at Sam – one of the only times I've heard her swear so I knew how strong her emotions were. I was extremely close to doing a U-turn and taking him back to the gates. He can piss straight off with his attitude if it remains like this.

'No, Sam, Nic is at risk when he's around her, how can't you see this? She would never have been taken if it wasn't for Prince Charming here scooping in and saving you. This was probably his plan the entire time, to get one of his freaky mutant friends from this place to take Nic away so you'll see the dashing side of him, rushing to his daughters need after all this time so you think he's a suitable Father, when it was his ply all along. He's not a real man,' Tobias said.

'How long have you been working on that speech for, kid?' I asked him in the mirror.

'Tobias, stop this because at this rate you'll be walking back to Frimley,' Sam said.

'Just because you know it's true,' Tobias muttered and the car went deadly silent. Oh yeah, this will be a challenging day.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

'I've seen shifty people before, Joe, and he's on the list,'

I walked up behind Ella, who had her legs across Joe's lap as he frowned at her, before looking over at Tobias who was sitting on a bench by himself on the other end of the sports hall. Everyone who was going on the mission was in the room, all in matching Maui active wear. This included thin camisole or tank top styled shirts for females, with tight leggings and running shoes, all of which were black. And then a similar styled tank top for men and tight black jogging bottoms with cuffed hems. Everyone had their own uniform, which was custom made for them. That was everyone apart from Tobias, who had to borrow some random leggings we found in the lost and found box, and a black tee with "I love (and live for) chicken pie!" in the logo crest, with a cartoon chicken grinning. I knew the shirt actually belonged to me, as Ella bought it for me when she was seventeen and couldn't stop laughing at it in a farmers market. I had found it a bit too amusing. Sam didn't have any clothes made for her either, but thankfully Ella was so prepared she had kept spares in her locker and gave over her maternity Maui active wear to Sam, as her regular ones was too small – there was a good few inches of height between them – but the maternity ones were a bit too big. Lucy had taken her to one side to take in the leggings and sort out something with the shirt. We were still waiting for the results of the DNA test to come back, and I knew it was killing Sam not knowing.

But since the idea was planted in my head, it had started to make sense. There was quite a bit of similarity between Sam and Lucy; they looked similar. Not identical, but similar. They also had the same slight tepidness about them, both were quite shy. Sam had told me that she had been left at Blakeley when she was four, not being able to remember. For it all to be probable, when Sam was four, Lucy would have had to be two – which would make Sam the same age as Lucy's older brother, who works with her Dad running Kingdom. As they were never registered at birth, meaning that finding any form of birth certificate for either girl was impossible, it was impossible to find out is Sam had a twin. However, it was completely viable. Sam can't remember her past at all, and Lucy can't remember anything before her second birthday. Which, for someone who can remember what colour the door handles were in her childhood house when she was three, is quite odd. Lucy told me her father's gift was mind manipulation, similar to what I could do if I ever turned bad. He could remove memories, force people to stop moving, force people to stop breathing, persuade anything to do as he wants and so on. Was it possible that he decided Sam wasn't good enough for his perfect little Kingdom and gave her up, wiping her from the memory of Lucy and potentially her twin brother? It was possible, yes, but it might be a bit too far fetched.

'I'll go talk to him, see what I pick up,' Joe said after glaring at the guy. He gently moved Ella's legs from his lap, handing over Charlie in the process, before walking over to the bench. At some point, he transitioned from the gentle, caring guy we all knew he was into a "Lad", his walk becoming a subtle swagger and his confidence going through the ceiling. I frowned – I knew exactly that stance. When he first joined Maui part time when he was nineteen that was how he walked and behaved. Ella was his tranquilliser. Ever since he met Ella he had calmed down and was extremely gentle and kind With a very quick look back at Ella, and a wink at her, he turned around and introduced himself to Chicken Pie Princess.

'How do you not cringe when you see him like that?' I hissed at Ella, who sat Charlie on her lap. The baby noticed me, and made some adorable giggle-like noises in my direction. Ella hugged him a bit tighter, kissing his forehead. He was growing up quick, little Charlie, and now he was starting to crawl around. However, Ella and Joe carried him a lot recently because having a young child and a baby starting to crawl in public spaces wasn't optimal. Charlie had began trying to speak but hadn't got very far – he could say "mummy" and "daddy" or very rare occasions but he preferred making cute baby noises that got him attention from those around him. He grinned at me, his blue eyes sparkling.

'Oh, I do, don't worry,' Ella told me.

'How are you feeling?' I asked her, knowing her calm and collective outer shell was nothing compared to the mental torment she must be experiencing – but she was a bit too good at hiding her emotion.

'I'm crapping it; I'm terrified for the girls. I'm scared that we're all willingly waltzing into a nice trap, that this Cactus guy is just a massive lure to get us all inside, and then they'll have everyone in one go. I'm terrified the kids won't be safe if anything goes wrong, or if they're even well to start with.' Ella sighed. 'I just want Lily back,'

'You'll get her back,' I replied, hugging my sister to my side. 'We'll get our kids back,'

'And they'll never be leaving our sides again,' Ella added.

'Oh Hell no,' I said, taking Charlie from her lap. 'So, who's not going in the end?' I asked her.

'Karla and Saul aren't, they're sitting this one out. Diamond is staying with them, to keep an eye on all the kids, Charlie and Poppy are obviously staying here as well. I think that's it for everyone staying here,' Ella said.

'Okay, so how many cars are we going to take?'

'Er, four I think. Two Jeeps and two normal cars including my Clio. Trace will drive the Jeep, with me, Joe, you and Sam, and Chicken Pie in the back seat with the kits, and we'll be the first one to go. Then Zed, Sky, Lucy, Crystal and Xav in the second car, Yves, Phee, Will, Uri and Vick in the next. The fourth car is just others for security reasons, you know the drill. Jason will stay around here for a few hours, staying in contact with Luce the entire way, before he'll bring down the helicopter at the meeting point, and wait for us there. When we get the girls, they'll go back with Jason via the helicopter whilst we all drive back. Jake and Quinn still stay here and coordinate everything before flying over and being our eyes in the sky if we need them,' Ella explained to me.

'Although Chicken Pie seems like a waste of space,' I added.

'Well, you invited him, didn't you?' Ella said, looking over at Joe who was now sitting next to Chicken Pie, talking to him animatedly – probably about something totally irrelevant. That was exactly how Ella and Joe worked together – they would talk about something so irrelevant it hurt, whilst Ella would distract you and Joe would be able to slip into your mind and see exactly what you were thinking, feeling, and what actions you were thinking of taking. They were an incredible powerful couple together.

'I thought it would help Sam, but he's just bickered with her the entire time,'

'Tell him to stay here, then, shove him in the dog pit,' Ella said. The Dog Pit referred to one of the gyms used for training, but it was more of a large social gathering of those who like to train a lot, and the guys there were Hench and buffed up. However, they are the nicest guys you'll meet but will hurt you badly if you piss off someone on the inside. I was in the middle of a moral dilemma when I heard my phone go. Frowning, I pulled it out of my pocket and saw an email waiting.

I opened it up, reading along the lines.

 _Michael,_

 _I hope all goes well today, I am incredibly sorry I couldn't be there to support you and Ella during these tough times, but I'll be at the office tonight when you can bring in Nic and she can tell me her story. However, you have to be tough and keep it together for Sam. She's not as strong as you think and I can feel her crumbling from twenty miles away. She needs you more than someone had ever needed you before, and you have to let her know that you will be there for her no matter what the impact is._

 _I have had a reply from the genetic testing within the science and medical health department just a few minutes ago and have attached the full report that they sent with it you to you and to Lucy's mobile too. If you don't want to read through the genetic testing, I can sum it up for you. Both Lucy and Sam share the same DNA from two genotypes – which concludes they are full sisters. We might have to talk to Lucy about how she had a dream about this, but it might just be a coincidence. However, either way, you can tell Sam she now has a sister and more of an extended family than she could have ever imagined._

 _Now you all be safe, and tell everyone that comes from me personally, and I wish you all the best._

 _Susan xx_

I had to reread the message. Sam and Lucy were sisters after all. I grinned at my phone. Sam will be over the moon that she finally has someone to call her own family but I pulled up short when I realised now it was near enough certain that Sam did have a twin brother, and he was one of the most manipulative little shitheads the Savant world has produced. And let's not even mention her father. But like Lucy, she didn't follow en route with what her brother and father has done, but forged her own path and was an incredible inspiration.

Sam had a sister. And that sister was my cousin's fiancé.

'Guess that means we're brother in laws to be, then,' I heard Jason say behind me, where he must have been CC'd into Lucy's version of the email and I rolled my eyes. Ella grinned at the whole act. Jason was right – and it now also meant that Tyler was my nephew too – was that how this worked too?

Sam only half expected to have a sister out of this – she would never have thought she would have gained a brother-in-law and a nephew out of this either.

* * *

 **Hiya! Sorry this has taken so long, we've had a very busy week or so! So what do we think of this all? What do you think will happen when they go and find the girls and after that! :)**


	33. Chapter 32 - Sam

**Chapter 32 – Sam**

I watched as Lucy bent down slightly to tie a hair band around the excess fabric on my shirt, pulling it slightly tighter around me. The shirt was at least two sizes too big – it had been a maternity one for Ella, but it never fit her because it was way too big for her too, so it remained in its bag in the bottom of her locker. It fitted me a bit better than her, the length that it had on her wasn't an issue with me as I was a bit taller, and chubbier too, but it was still uncomfortably big on me. Lucy had taken me into one of the offices to take in the leggings by putting a few tucs on either side, and then to sort out something with the shirt. The leggings had already been sown to make them smaller and it felt a lot better and I didn't have to worry about constantly pulling them up.

'Put your hands up for a moment,' Lucy said gently to me and I did what she said, and she adjusted the fabric in her hand to put a black hair band around it, pulling it into a nice pony tail of fabric. She then slipped the excess fabric under the shirt. 'That's probably as much as I can do,' Lucy muttered nervously, biting her lip as she frowned at the new line of the shirt.

'Thanks,' I whispered back, my voice seizing up. She could be my sister. 'Do you think we could be sisters?' I asked her softly and she frowned slightly before chewing the corner of her thumb.

'I think so,' She whispered, her voice incredibly strained.

'Why are you upset by that?' I asked back to her, making sure to pull my shirt down slightly.

'I had a brother, two years older than myself – the same age as you, and he was the cruellest twisted person you could ever imagine. I'm scared that you'll be his twin, and you'll have to live knowing that,' Lucy muttered walking away from me slightly like she was too embarrassed to look me in the eye.

'But, you're not like him,'

'But I have to live knowing who my family is. Jason pretends it doesn't matter, but I've seen the caution he has around me occasionally. I've seen the way he studies the case of my father, and he goes to tell me something or a development and he doesn't. It sucks. I don't want you to live like that,' Lucy muttered.

'But I would have gained a sister, that'll be worth it,' I muttered back and she smiled slightly.

'You don't know how twisted they are,' Lucy muttered with a strained voice, before hugging herself.

'Haven't we got an email yet?'

'I don't think we will be getting the results before we leave, and my phone is already in the locker, I don't think I want to find out until after, though,' Lucy said. 'I really do hope we are sister,' Lucy said, 'But I don't want you to live with knowing you have a psychotic family who will do even the most darkest, sincere crimes like they're just frying an egg,'

I sighed, feeling the weight of hitting me like a tonne of bricks. I had wanted a family, someone who knew my past, and I thought when Lucy had mentioned it my dreams had come true. However, now she had told me her fears, it didn't feel so good. I was terrified. Lucy had mentioned to me how her family enslaved her, keeping her as a maid, before she was old enough to be sold to fellow Kingdom members for sex. She had explained if she didn't escape when she did, she would be forced to be a breeding captive – being married off to a "soldier," and being shoved into isolation to continuously have kids. Not that she would ever look after them for a long period of time. She would have a baby, look after said baby for a few months, before they were couriered off to the nursery to be raised and brainwashed to hate Savant's who were good, to have another child.

'They wouldn't be my family, you would be,' I said and Lucy smiled.

'I want you to be my family, Sam, I really do. Even if we're not sisters and it's just a coincidence you'll still be my family,' Lucy said, coming up and hugging me slightly awkwardly.

'Sorry, we gutta go,'

I turned around to see Ella standing in the doorway, smiling slightly.

'Ella, if you get an email about us, don't tell us until we're get back,' Lucy immediately said. 'If that's okay with you, Sam,'

'Yeah, we don't need to know, it can wait,' I added and Ella nodded.

'Okay, that's cool. We're just loading up the car and we'll go, Sam, we're in the first car and Lucy you're with the boys,' Ella said and I nodded.

'What about Chicken Pie?' Lucy asked.

'He's coming with us, unfortunately, sitting trussed up in the backseat with the kits.' Ella explained. I turned around to Lucy.

'I'll see you later then, I guess,' I said to Lucy. I could sense with Ella that the email had come through in the time, and she was going to tell us when she came in the results and promptly stopped. I knew she was hiding her emotions but thankfully she was doing so with such care and precision that I couldn't tell anything. So the email had come through then when we were in the room. Ella must have told both Jason and Michael not to tell us anything or even show any emotions. I was thankful.

'See you then,' Lucy whispered back to me, before she ran over and hugged me. She held out a hand to Ella, who ruefully took it and Lucy pulled her in. The three of us hugged tight.

'We'll find the girls, we'll bring them back,' Lucy said with such confidence I had to believe her. I would be getting my Nic back soon. Tonight, I would be able to put her to bed.

'For the girls, then,' Ella said.

'For the girls,' I repeated.

And with that, we walked away, Lucy back out into the hallway to head to the gym to find Jason no doubt, and I followed Ella down some stairs and then a long hallway.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

We had walked down in complete silence completely absorbed in our own worlds, hoping and praying to every superior being known that our daughters will make a safe and completely uninjured return, and no one will get hurt during this mission. We'll just waltz in, get the girls, and bring them back. Well, Jason would bring them back, check them all over and be their moral support whilst we drove back. It would be a long drive – knowing our girls were back without us. But they would have Jason, and he would care for them so well. They would be able to get their statements, keep them company until we were back. And we would never lose sight of them again.

We stood next to one of the Jeeps with blacked out windows, and the door opened as Joe got out. He pulled me into a hug as he must have realised how scared I was.

'We'll get the girls,' He reassured me, before holding the door for me. I climbed into the seat in the middle, next to Michael who was looking at me with a certain look I couldn't name. He quickly put his arm around me as Ella got in the front seat, buckling up her seatbelt as Joe got back into the back passenger seat, kicking the chair immediately and Ella stuck her finger up at her husband who just grinned at her.

'You two are such kids,' the man in the front seat sighed, pulling out the SatNav from the glove box by Ella's feet.

'Tell me when you're ready for the postcode,' Joe replied, on his laptop tablet. I could easily look over his shoulder to see the map of the place, which now had Lucy's drawing of Kingdom implanted into it. They had found a rough postcode for the area, which meant we could follow a SatNav most of the way down, with Ella only going on slightly shorter projections if we came across traffic or right down near the end. I had noticed she had her projection bracelet on, so I would assume she would have to get Joe to unlock it if she wanted to project any further than her normal five mile range.

'Hi, Sam, I don't think we've met formally yet,' The driver said, looking back at me in the mirror.

'Oh shit yeah, Sam, Trace, Trace, Sam,' Ella introduced us, tracing patterns on her leggings.

'Nice to meet you,' Trace said politely in the rear view mirror. 'Please don't feel to overwhelm by my family, especially this one,' he gestured to Ella, who had made herself comfortable by taking her shoes off.

'Fam, how dare you,' Ella joked with him, taking the SavNav off the screen and passing it over the chair to Joe behind her, who typed in the postcode. I could see the SavNav wait a moment or two to load up the instructions and the route that we would be heading on, before Joe pressed confirm. The journey would take us just over four hours if we weren't to take a break and we followed speed limits. I considered asking Trace to speed so we would get there sooner.

 _He won't speed, he's a cop in Denver,_ Michael told me softly, rubbing my arm. _Since the crash, no one in our family has gone over the speed limit. Ella and I worship them almost religiously. If that makes us dull people we don't care, but people speeding is what killed our parents and our brothers and sisters. If we were going the speed limit and the same events happened, chances are more would have survived._

 _Oh,_ was all I could say. I curled up into him a bit more and he hugged me tighter, kissing my forehead. I heard someone grunt disapprovingly in the back and turned around to see Tobias sitting behind Joe, diagonally behind me to right, his arm crossed and hunched over in the chair in an apparent sulk.

'You don't have to rub it in,' He muttered.

'Can you please shut up back there, or I'll personally push you out of the car on the M4,' Joe snapped and I looked at him in amusement. From what I knew of him, he was normally quite quiet, and never rude. He normally let his wife do all the talking, which I think worked out for them fine. However, when he was with people he was comfortable with; he started to speak up a bit more, but was never really rude. Until now.

I noticed Ella's grin though as she looked in the wing mirror back at him.

'What are you gunna do about it?' Tobias asked bluntly and Joe sighed as he leaned forward to hand Ella back the SatNav, gently rubbing her shoulder with the other hand. Ella frowned slightly at the offering, taking it before nodding.

'Good plan,' Ella muttered back and even Trace appear to have a faint smile on his face. What did I miss?

'I'll give you one more chance,' Joe said. He looked over at Michael, who nodded as well. So, they all knew something that I didn't. I sensed they weren't speaking telepathically, but rather they all knew what Joe was referring too.

'Go on then, you're all weirdo's anyway,' Tobias sighed, and I was looking over my shoulder at him, about to say something when his entire face froze, muscles went stiff before suddenly, he looked like he was sleeping.

'Sam, I mean this in a nice way, but your judgement of friends isn't the best,' Joe said to me softly.

'He wasn't always like this,' I muttered staring at Tobias. What had happened to him?

 _Joe and I have similar gifts, but with his he can force the brain to do something, he can make someone's body to stop moving even if they're willing it to move, and he can persuade people to fall asleep which is what he's done to Tobias, he can put a timer on them so they wake up when he wants too as well. He does it occasionally with the kids,_ Michael explained to me as I watched the other cars, with other drivers, pull up behind us.

'I'm taking that as our sign to go then,' Trace said, seeing the other cars pull into line behind. I turned around to see the driver of another Jeep was a younger looking boy with dark hair, with the small timid blonde girl – Sky, I think her name was, in the passenger seat.

 _We're in the car behind you, Sam._ Lucy told me telepathically. _How's it going with Tobias?_

 _Joe's sent him to sleep,_

 _He said he would if he starts kicking off. Surprised he lasted this long, he really didn't get on with Joe._ Lucy told me.

 _What happened between them? I've never seen Joe so annoyed before. He's always been very calm._

 _Oh, he is normally incredibly calm and level headed. I've seen him annoyed perhaps once or twice. But Tobias basically blamed Joe's parenting on all of this happening, telling him if he wasn't so irresponsible to bring his daughter with him to Blakeley, none of this would have happened. He kept it together, but he told Ella he says one thing against anyone in the car or even breathes in the direction of anyone he'll send Tobias to sleep. They got the results back, though, Jason told me they had an email and I told him I didn't want to know until after we got the girls._

 _I knew Michael was being weird._ I sighed, looking over at him who was staring out the window.

 _Jason was being odd too, it might not be what we hoped then,_ Lucy sighed.

 _We'll still be family though, if not friends – right?_ I asked.

 _Best of friends, yeah,_ Lucy said. _Can you tell Trace he's good to leave now? I'll talk to you later,_ Lucy told me before she cut off.

'Lucy said you're good to go now, Trace,' I muttered.

'Thank you,' Trace said before he pulled off, heading out of the parking lot under the building, heading out onto the roads that lead out of base.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

We had been in the car for just over three hours, and had been talking nonstop since we left only pausing when the SatNav gave us directions, or when Ella was projecting around the area for any traffic or road works to avoid, or when Lucy was talking to me telepathically like we were walkie talkies. We had pulled off the motorway and onto the main road heading down into Cornwall and Devon when the conversation turned serious.

'So where are we going now?' Trace asked, unplugging the SatNav. Ella put her arm above her head and Joe leaned forward to unlock the bracelet.

'We need to find a quiet beach, well, I need to find a quiet beach,' Ella said, rubbing her wrists like a prisoner who rubs theirs when their handcuffs had been released. She curled up in her chair, closing her eyes and with that, she too looked like she was asleep.

'What are we going to do about Chicken Pie?' Trace asked. 'I don't want him coming to Kingdom with us, and I don't really want him in my car either,'

'Buy him a train ticket to Aberdeen,' Joe muttered.

'That would be harsh to everyone who lives in Aberdeen,' Michael added.

'Was you high when you thought it was a good idea to take him with us?' Joe asked him over my lap, so it wasn't directed at me.

'Probably,'

'Why can't we leave him in the car?' I added.

'You can't leave dogs unattended in the car,' Joe added and both Michael and Trace laughed. Even I smiled a bit. 'I mean, Sam has a point, we could just leave him in the car,'

'Well, he has nothing to contribute to the mission, so he can just stay in the car. If he leaves, then he can make his own way back, does that sound reasonable?' I said.

'Very much so,' Trace added.

'Stranded beach near where we are, Ella's telling me, if you take the next turning off this road, and follow the coastal route, she says it'll take about ten or fifteen minutes, but she'll come back out to direct you. She's just checking the sandbanks to make sure it's viable to get to Kingdom,' Joe added, and he sounded so excited. Even I was excited – we were one step closer to getting back our kids.

* * *

Hello! Thank you all for the lovely reviews, and to those who wondered, "Tobias," is pronounced "Toe-bye-us," or "Toe-Bye-is" depending on how your accent. I always pronounce it "Toe-bye-us," though. If you are curious, if you put the name into Google translate from the detected language to English and play the audio, it'll show you how it pronounced! :)


	34. Chapter 33 - Michael

**Chapter 33 – Michael**

We pulled up into a deserted car park, half of which had been covered in a thin layer of dry sand, blown up from the beach we were a minute walk away. According to Ella, this beach is completely deserted. So much so, even the lifeguards weren't on duty. Trace made a circle in the car park, pulling up randomly.

'Don't park like a dick,' Ella joked and he rolled his eyes as he straightened up the car. Sam was watching out of my window at the place we had pulled up and I kissed her forehead slightly, squeezing her upper arm. She didn't respond. Trace stopped the car in one of the bays facing towards the exit of the car park, but near the pathway onto the beach. The helicopter was en route now, and had got the clearance to land in a nature reserve, out of the way, but was within walking distance from the car park, and if it came to it we would drive the girls up there. The second Jeep came into the car park just after we did, and then the two normal cars shortly after having got held up by traffic lights a few miles back. We all pulled up, parking with a bay between the cars giving us space to move out.

'Pay and display,' Joe commented.

'Good old Cornwall,' Ella laughed. Joe rubbed her arm affectionately and I guessed there was an inside joke between them. Probably about the time they were in Cornwall when they first met.

'So, we're locking up Chicken Pie in the car, and if he escapes then so be it?' Joe asked. I looked down at Sam, who had started to respond when hearing Chicken Pie mentioned, and she nodded.

 _I'm sorry, I shouldn't have invited him._

 _We weren't to know he wouldn't be tolerable, would we?_ Sam replied back, looking back up before kissing my cheek.

'Right, all out,' Trace said and there was the sound of five seatbelts unbuckling, the doors opening and we all slid out. I gave my hand to help Sam, but kept my eye on Joe. He bent back down into the car, only when Sam was out and by my side, and slowly woke Tobias back out.

'You used our gift on me,' Tobias growled.

'You were being unreasonable. Now, you have to sit and play nice in the car and wait for us to come back. If you leave the car, you're at your own peril and we won't bother waiting around to pick you up because once we got the girls, we're going. Got it, sunshine?' Joe said.

'You can't control me,'

'Oh, you're saying that after I forced you to sleep for five hours,' Joe said, slamming the doors on his little conversation.

'He's fierce,' Sam muttered up to me.

'I've never seen this side of him before, he's really pissed off.' I whispered back as he hugged my sister tight, swaying her slightly.

'He's just terrified for Lily, completely terrified,' Sam muttered. 'It hurts just looking at him,'

I frowned, knowing I could put a shield around people's gifts but would it work with Sam? We wouldn't overly need her gift when it came to getting the girls out of that building, but I didn't want to risk it. But I couldn't tell Joe to get with it and to not be scared. He wasn't a strong shielder – he never really had to be – and whilst myself and Ella were terrified too, we managed to keep it under our shields. Deciding I had to shield Sam too, for her sake, I gently tapped into her brain and put a bubble around her gift, so she wouldn't pick up any emotions from anyone in the convoy, only those who we would encounter after. Sam quickly looked between those in front of us, including my sister and brother in law, and the other to the others in the convoy.

'How did you do that? What did you do?' Sam asked me.

'I made it so you couldn't see their emotions; I'll remove it whenever you want me too,' I whispered to her gently as the other three cars started to go into their kits out. We all had a basic supply pack we were taking with us, which included a first aid kit; torches, flares and flotation devices, and we also had licenses firearms with us too. Those who didn't work at Maui and therefore didn't have their own personal permit for firearms had been issues tasers instead, so they were still able to defend themselves if it came to that. I watched as Trace opened the boot of the car, pulling out the five rucksacks, and then I saw those in the back car disperse, heading around the local area to act as our eyes and ears and to see if anyone followed us here. We had worked out four or five different groups and who would be staying where, and it primarily worked around gifts.

Myself, Sam, Ella, Joe, Lucy, Will, Sky and Zed would make up the first group, between us we should have all grounds covered. We would be the ones to head into Kingdom itself. We had the range of gifts between us; Lucy was willing to be our invisibility shield, Will is on hand to pick up any danger, Sky and Sam to see the emotions of those involved, Zed primarily because he wanted a fight and refused to let Sky go in alone but he offered to read the guards minds, Joe and I would be able to fight anyone's thoughts – with Joe's ability to cut them off before they even start to get aggressive and mine of being able to force people to do what they want. My gift is also known in the parasite world of Savant's too as being a mind emptier. Yeah, I can do that. The very surface of my gift is to break through shields and to read minds, but that's the beacons point of the ice berg. Dig deeper, and I can control your body. Get me angry, and I have the capability of wiping your memories and making you forget years of your life. It pisses me off that my gift is known to be bad, but I hope I was a good person. I've done it once, made someone forget years of their life, but it was for the better good – and that's how I know what I'm capable of. I didn't get a kick from it, I didn't enjoy it either. However, it's what I can do and if it comes to it today, I might have to do it again. Ella was on hand as well to freeze people and project into the complex of Kingdom.

On the beach, most of the others will wait ready to leave when we have the girls; Xav for emergency medical reasons, Crystal because she dibs coming, Yves for any fireball needs we may require and Phee to use her time freezing gift on any pursuers, Trace and Vick for machoness. Uri would wait back here with Jason, with a car ready to head to the helicopter with the girls to get them back to back as soon as they can. The others will let our cars go to start driving home, and follow us three hours later when the coast in clear. Jake and Quinn are watching the CCTV hotspots from Maui, and will alert us if anything was to go wrong. Which I hope it won't.

But there was a heavy, grave feeling in the air.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

 **Kingdom**

There was a heavy, grave feeling in the air at Kingdom – but it was more of a welcome addition to those working there. It was the combination of ruthless control blended together with propaganda, which made that question where the lines blurred at control and freedom, and also the feeling of draining well for the world. However, the sense made Agent 1021 sick. However, that was how he lived. For years, he has lived in Kingdom as one of the soldiers, blending in. Really, he owed Kingdom his life. They had saved him when normal medicine perhaps wouldn't. Him, and his older brother. However, they had tried to wipe his memory on everything, they put a thin layer of cellophane in his mind – or it felt like that – to suppress the memories. But it didn't work for agent 1021, he always remembered his previous life. However, his brother, agent 1011, it worked slightly better. He often caught himself explaining to him the past. But it has been twenty odd years since normality for the boys. They were no longer boys either.

Agent 1021 watched the two girls from the dining room table, which he had just tidied up. He had put their drawings away into document wallets, and they had started to watch recorded children shows on the TV. Sighing, he checked the clock. If Maui had got his letter, they would be waiting down in the docking bays below ground for him at exactly four, during the changing of shifts. It was safer for Ella and Michael, as the previous guards would be tired, and the new guards wouldn't be on post. Also, safer for him and the two girls to make their escape, they can head down in the lifts until ground level, and then use the workers lift with Barrian to get down and get out. He would meet Agent 1011 on the way out, who will already be down in the cleaning layers, so if it came to it, they would be able to take one girl each.

He sighed, watching the two girls curl up into each other. He hadn't told them the plans, and they still looked scared. I told both of them that their parents would trust me with them, but they didn't believe that. The children wouldn't believe how far back him and Michael and Ella go.

The room was awash with colours; it had become a forest in itself within the last day. That was the work of Nic, who's gift he had learned to love. He had stolen a pack of seeds from resources and had told Nic to use them to help keep her mind of the situation. And she did, making wonderful flowers. Agent then tried something different; he printed out pictures of trees and asked her to copy them. It took her a good few hours to muster the skill, and it had been the most peaceful he had seen the girl, but she managed it. And from there on in, there was no stopping her. Potted trees were everywhere, but they weren't in pots but rather a thin layer of soil that had covered the wooden floor, there was a flowery grass trail for pathways, and Nic had even turned the sink on and had made a river, heading from the sink to the bathroom.

All of this by a four year old in twenty odd hours. It was easy to see who her Dad was.

Lily, however, sat in the corner quietly very bemused by the whole situation. She just watched the agent for hours on end, frowning at him. Even when she was colouring, she wasn't okay. Well, no one would be okay with the situation. Whilst it was impossible, it was like Lily knew the agent.

Very soon, his secret would be out to the people he had wanted to talk to for years, and he could start his life afresh.

* * *

 **Hello! Apologies for the short chapter but I just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews! I never expected this to be so liked! Thank you all so much for messaging me (I really do reply and I love having conversations,).**

 **In regards to Cactus, or Agent 1021 (who is looking after Nic and Lily which I think has been explained, but if not there we go) you'll find out who he is in the next chapter. Also, the next chapter is the eight and a half thousand words one so it might be a while.**

 **Well, if we reach 100 reviews, I'll put it up then! We're only five reviews away which is doable! Thank you so much!**


	35. Chapter 34 - Sam

**Chapter 34 – Sam**

It had just turned half two, and we were using the natural protection of sand dunes to hide our work from any locals – it had gone past the time for October half term, so all holiday goers were no more. However, locals were still prowling around on their natural front door of the beach, and I don't think they would be too happy with what we were doing. There was quite a few of us who had entered the beach threshold, right at the top with windbreakers around us so we can inflate our boats.

'Hang on – we're using inflatable boats?' I asked Michael and he looked around.

'With engines on,'

'We're using inflatable boats?' I asked again ludicrously. How stupid was he? 'What happened to boat hire?'

'We can't leave a trail; boat hire will leave a very solid trail. Inflatable boats won't. Even when we dump them, Lucy will have made the boats invisible. They're tried it already, if Lucy makes the boat's invisible too, Trace can't trace them back to us. Boat hires will have logos, they'll take contact details, and mediocre things like that are very, very traceable,' Michael explained to me as he wrapped his arms around my chest, pulling me towards him as we both faced our small set up.

The majority of the Benedict's had gone off and made themselves scarce for a while, working out something that they didn't tell Ella and myself, and I don't think the boys know exactly what they were planning either, but we let them do whatever they were doing. But Ella let them do it without question, so I assumed that they were doing something logical. Only Zed and Sky remained, along with Jason who had landed the helicopter and left the pilots with them before jogging the three mile walk down to the beach. Lucy was with us too, and the second the boat was inflated she had put her shield around them. So far, only two boats were inflated, out of the three. It took about ten minutes with an electric pump – the electricity wired from the RNLI lifeguard hut in the car park – for each boat to be inflated. And then, when the boats were cleared and not punctured, we would go. It wasn't that long time wise to head over to the beach by Kingdom, where we would dock the boats on the beach in a cliff overhang, then walk over to Kingdom and waltz on in to a high-security place with intentions of taking the children back.

'So we're going boating?' I asked.

'Yeah,' Michael agreed. 'A tiny bit of electric engine powered dingying,'

I watched as Lucy crossed across to the third boat, which was semi-inflated, and knelt down beside it. Jason, who was hot on her heels the entire time, walked over and knelt next to her, looking at her in such an affectionate way that it hurt to look at. I then changed the direction of my gaze over to Ella and Joe, who were sitting by the windbreakers, both of them with their knees to their chests, side touching, and hands draped over their knees. They must have been speaking telepathically, but Joe kept looking over at her before looking back down at the sand, then the boats, before myself and Michael, Lucy and Jason, and Sky and Zed who were walking the dunes. When Joe caught me staring at him, he smiled softly at me before looking at Ella sharply, where she must have said something he didn't approve of telepathically. It was odd seeing everyone with no emotion – this is what normal people must see. It's odd.

The silence among the group was comfortable; we were all too scared about what was about to happen. We had to wait for the boys to come back before we could even prepare and the boat had another few minutes worth of inflation time. I escaped Michael's arms to kneel down by my back pack, opening up the zip and systematically checking everything.

 _You've checked that at least twenty times,_ Michael whispered to me. _You're not okay, are you?_

 _What makes you think that?_ I snapped back. _Sorry. I'm sorry._

 _Sam, it's okay,_ Michael said. _Do you want to go for a walk?_

 _What will that do to help?_ I snapped again before breathing deeply. This wasn't fair.

 _Let me just tell my sister,_ Michael simple answered me back before walking over to where Ella and Joe sat, he crouched beside them before very quietly whispering to them. Joe nodded and Ella just frowned slightly, before saying something back to him. Michael then spoke back and Ella nodded too.

 _Come on then,_ Michael said, holding his hand out for me before pulling me up. We walked out through the chicane we made with the windbreakers and he started to walk down the beach. I caught up with him.

'I wish you would just open up to me,' Michael whispered to me, taking my hand. He substantially slowed the pace so I could at least walk next to him. He had mile long legs, so when he walked off it meant I had to run to catch up. I froze.

'What's there to open up about?' I asked shielded.

'Stop pretending you're okay, and like this is all normal, Sam,' Michael said and I frowned. 'You've been sitting out on everything, not talking to me; you've been so hesitant to even talk to me or to anyone really. You kept having nightmares last night and you didn't even talk to me about them like you normally do. I know you have vivid dreams. Even in the car on the way down, you said you were okay. You pretended to read, but your book was upside down the majority of the way. And it was in Polish – I don't think you're bilingual either. I just wish you spoke to me,' Michael whispered and I pulled him to a stop.

I opened my mouth to explain it to him; explain that I trusted him but if I spoke about the situation at hand I would break and I wouldn't be strong enough to continue. How would I explain to him that Nic had been such a massive part of my life for the last four and a bit years that now she was gone I could barely function? How could I explain to him it felt like Nic had gone off me when Michael had showed up and no longer wanted hugs or wanted me to baby her like I once did that it hurt me – but the hurt intensified by the thousands when she was gone. Michael would never understand it properly; my brain was going in overload but I was bottling it up, bottling it by the gallon. I didn't want to make Michael's life any harder by telling him what I was feeling and how hesitant I was – even going on this mission I felt like I would be dragging everyone else's performance down when it mattered the most – so I left him out of it all. Even if it meant more pain for me, it would help him a bit. But there was a bit of selfishness in there too; I was terrified that if I spoke to him about how my life had always been anchored by crippling anxiety and body confidence issues that even in leggings and a top too big for me I felt ugly and dirty – like my body was full of sin – he would leave me. And I wanted him badly, but perhaps it was for the best. My mouth hung open as he wanted me, but then I broke down crying.

Michael immediately hugged me, pulling me in towards him as I rested the left side of my face against his chest as he had wrapped one arm around my back and the other gently holding my head. He gently shushed me, telling me it was okay. I don't know how long it took me to stop crying, knowing I had to explain it to him.

'You weren't shielding,' Michael muttered. 'Like always,' He whispered and I smiled weakly. 'Come on, sit down with me,' Michael sat straight down in the sand and I had nothing to do but follow him, sitting down next to him. He sighed, before wrapping his legs around me slightly, including me further in the conversation.

'It's so normal for you to feel so lost without Nic, she has been there for four years never leaving your side, until now when she was forced too. It's really playing everyone around, none of us are the same. I have only known Nic for less than a month, and I can't function when she's not here. You may think this is easy for us because it's our jobs but it's not, Sam, this is killing us all off. Nic still loves you to absolute pieces, but she doesn't want hugs anymore because she wants to be grown up. She's seen so many more people since moving to Frimley. She, in her own way, wants to be independent despite only being four. Lily did the exact same thing last year when she started nursery. I wish you said this before, Sam, I can't even imagine how bad you must be feeling. But I would never, ever hate you because of your brain, your anxiety or your confidence issues. There is nothing wrong with you, you're bloody gorgeous, and you have a body of a Greek God. Ella has suffered with anxiety for years, and she's taught me how to deal with it properly. So I won't suddenly pack my horses and leave, I will stay right here, like this, and I will try and help you.' Michael explained softly, before leaning forward to kiss me gently. 'Also, you need to wear black more often, it looks incredible on you,' He said.

'You think?' I squeaked back rather unimpressively but he just grinned.

'Oh, I know,' He unwrapped his legs from around me, before pulling me up. 'I love you to the moon and back, Sam,'

'I love you too,'

'That's adorable,' I jumped out of my skin as Ella appeared next to us somehow, 'We're ready to go, though,' Ella said, walking back to our area. One of the windbreakers has been pulled down when there was no one looking, and there was no one else on the beach. 'We're leaving as soon as we can,'

We watched as Ella walked back towards the windbreakers, where all of her brothers had rocked up. I hadn't even noticed. How long had they been there for? Had they seen me break down?

'Come on then,' Michael said, holding my hand before walking me back over toward the area. Sure enough, all three water boats had been inflated, the engines fitted nicely, and Lucy must have already done her thing as the boys were getting ready to shift them. The boat that we were going in was the one right by the clearing in the windbreakers; an inflatable raft with two or so benches made from compressed air, with space for one by the engine. We would have to cut the engine off before we reach Kingdom, and use telekinesis to help guide the water and push the raft away. But there were eight of us on this boat; it'll be a pretty good squeeze. I had barely made it to the boat before I was engulfed in a massive hug from one of Ella's brothers. He squeezed me tight, spinning me around.

'Will, put her down,' Ella said jokingly and the muscle man slash rugby player did as he was told.

'We'll be fine, sis,' He simply said to me, hugging me to his side.

'Yeah, it's what we do best,' Zed added, coming up behind me and ruffling my hair. I ducked out the way. 'We're masters in shit like this,'

'Strangely enough, the quote "we're masters in shit like this," appears on his CV,' Ella joked as the boy walked away, heading to the boat. I could see Lucy and Jason talking to each other in the corner, Jason's arms around her waist and her arms around his neck. Was that my sister?

'We're all family anyway,' Ella said, hugging me. 'You ready to go now?'

'Yeah, yeah,' I muttered.

'Take a few deep breaths; roll up your leggings, okay?' Ella said calmly in a motherly tone, and I did what she said.

'Why rolling up the leggings?'

'We're going to carry the boat into the shallows of the water over there, then climb in. You'll get in first with Sky, and then Lucy and me, and Will then Zed, and then finally Michael and Joe, and we'll be past the breakers when they get in,' Ella gestured to where we were going – we were going to climb a rock ledge, before placing the boat in the shallow waters just under. It looked to be above mid thigh height in the shallows so I was thankful I would be getting in first. 'From there, we head out of the breakwaters and over to the right for about twenty miles, which won't take us too long, and then we'll head to the beach. The other boat will follow us with Xav, Crystal, Yves, Phee, Trace and Vick. They'll keep both boats with them in case. The plans changed slightly, the third boat will have one of the back up team in just in case we'll need the extra room, but they'll remain away from Kingdom and only come in if we need them.' Ella explained to me.

'Okay,' I sighed. 'I can do this,'

'You can so do this,' Ella reassured.

'You got this girl!' Xav called from the sand dune he was playing on, and even Crystal shouted with reassurance. All the boys tuned in, with Sky coming up and hugging me slightly and Phee smiling on.

'We all know you can do it, Sam,' Michael came up behind me, kissing the side of my head.

'Then what are we waiting for?'

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

Fast comprehensions of words was not my strong point, and I struggled with trying to work out who was saying what, what it meant and why. I just copied what everyone else was doing which seemed the right thing to do. Between the eight of us, we managed to carry the boat over the rocky edge which led down nicely past the breaking waves which were only two foot perhaps. I stumbled a few times on the uneven surface, but Michael kept catching me.

 _I'm enjoying the view,_ Michael told me and I felt his hand gently slide across my bum. I blushed furiously red.

 _We're meant to be concentrating._

 _Really, really hard._ Michael added.

We got to the end of the ledge, and we lowered the boat down into the water. We had put towel into the boat, and alongside Ella's "gift" it meant we could dry off instantly. Ella dived into the water Olympic style, which caused Joe to roll his eyes, and she went underwater in order to see where the sandbanks were. She came up a minute later.

'We're good,' Ella said, 'just avoid anywhere in front of the break water, looks high,'

I tediously climbed down into the water, gasping when I noticed how cold it was. Michael was right there.

'You okay, sweetheart?' He whispered. I turned around enough to look at him; both him and Joe had put on wetsuits, similar to the one Ella was in, as the three of them would be in the water a lot more than the rest of us, who were still decked in leggings and vests. Michael had dug out a jumper for me when I mentioned how cold I was. But he looked very, very good.

'Yeah,' I said and he kissed me.

'If it helps you to stare, and then stare all you want. You're having whatever you want when we get Nic back,' He muttered. I raised my eyebrow. 'Not like that. Well, maybe like that,'

'Sam, you're okay to get into the boat now,' Ella called back from the front. Sky had already clambered herself in and offered me her hand. I took it, jumping slightly out of the water. Michael helped push me in. It wasn't elegant though, and I fell on my face. The boat continued to head out, and Lucy climbed into the boat next, stumbling slightly as well as we laughed gently. Ella jumped in like a pro, like she had done this her entire life, sitting next to Lucy on the bench. A few feet along, and in deeper water, Zed and Will jumped in as well making what me, Sky and Lucy had done look stupid. We waited until the water was neck height on the Michael and Joe before they both jumped in. Thankfully, they didn't do it as smooth as the Benedict's, and Will made his way to the back of the boat, kicking to life the petrol engine as we managed to moor off and head towards Kingdom. We could see the small figures of everyone else on the beach and as we headed out of view, we could see the second lot picking up their boat. Lucy slumped over, working hard on maintaining the shield in three different places, and she leant on Sky's shoulder, who wrapped a towel around her to keep her warm.

'Can't believe how much you three showed off,' Sky tutted.

'What do you mean we showed off?' Zed asked back.

'Jumping in here like it's normal every day behaviour,' Sky laughed.

'It is every day behaviour – this is exactly what we did at work when we worked the water rafts, we are so used to jumping into moving rafts,' Ella added.

'Some better than others,' Will mocked.

'There is over a foot height difference between us, I do very well considering I'm five foot,'

'Not quite five foot,' Joe added and everyone laughed. Michael put his arm around the back of the boat, hugging me a bit tighter.

'So, when's the wedding?' Will asked and I looked up, wondering who he was talking too before realising he was staring at us. 'Or you gunna do an Ella and get pregnant before the wedding,'

'Woah hey, that is offending so many people on this boat,' Sky added, looking at Lucy. 'And Phee,'

'I didn't mean to cause something,' Will laughed, sitting on the edge of the boat, 'I'm just saying either is cool, you're both doing a good job, keep doing that,' Michael nodded back to Will, who then looked out to sea to see exactly where we are meant to be going. Ella and Joe had moved to sit next to each other, a large beach towel around both of their shoulders, their hands linked together. Considering Ella had gone through two pregnancies, one only month previous, she still had a good figure and had lost a vast majority of the baby weight. Zed was sitting next to Sky, both of them involved in the conversation whilst Lucy was asleep on her shoulder.

'I miss the water school,' Ella said.

'There are so many good memories of that place,' Zed agreed with her.

'Do you remember the amount of times Dad thought Ella was drowning when she was just chilling under the water?' Will said.

'I was the reason he ended up with grey hair,' Ella added.

'Yeah, we all ended shitting ourselves every time you said you'll go down the pool. We always came in and you were just lying on the bottom of the pool floor for about three minutes, we used to have to throw diving blocks into the pool to get her to realise we were there,' Will said. 'If she wasn't at the house, but the dog was, she'd be randomly floating in the pool,'

I looked over at Ella who was smiling gently. Will had left the safety of the cliffs and we were now in the open ocean, heading down through scenic coastlands. There weren't any beaches – or at least accessible ones – that we had past. There were steep cliffs, with thick grass and fields as long as eyes can see stretching out in front of them. Ella then leaned into Joe, and he immediately wrapped his arms around Ella, kissing her forehead gently as she went to project around the area. There was silence on the boat as we continued to hurtle down the coastline.

'Okay, we've got a few more miles to go, and then we have to hug the cliff line tight – there's a direct route with no rocks or anything and it has a small out dent where we can hide the boats. We don't need to bring Lucy back just yet, she's doing a good job so far as I couldn't find the boats when floating around. When the second boat is in, we can bring her back,' Ella said, waking herself up.

Out of the ocean, a massive spear of ice appeared before it hurtled itself into the sky. It reached about fifty meters, before it dropped down, melting as it went, and splashed into the water. My mouth dropped as I watched Ella trace a pattern on her wetsuit leg, balling her hand together before drawing a line on her leg , sending another ice spear into the eye. She held the line by her knee, and the ice spear hovered, before she took her finger from her leg and it fell into the water. I frowned, wondering what was happening.

'Turn around,' Michael said to me softly, and I did as he said. We could just make out the small boat a few miles behind us, and as the ice spear dropped, a fireball came rising up from the other boat, a fire spear before falling back into the ocean, snuffing it out.

'What is that?' I asked shocked – was the other boat on fire?

'Ella and Yves are communicating, letting each other know everything is okay on the boats. Yves' gift is fire; he can make things combust or just gather static energy and light it. Ella's is ice, and she is just using tiny bits of water around pebbles from the sea bed and sending them up. It's how they both communicate, I have no idea what it means or how they know what it means, but they've done it for years,' Michael explained to me as I continued to watch the spectacle – a fire ball came up from behind the other boat, splitting into three – one going straight up and two smaller ones going left and right, before they snuffed out mid air. From behind the boat, a spear pillar came up and headed straight to the left. Yves then sent up a fire heart, Ella sending an ice one up.

'What did little brother say?' Will said, noticing Ella had stopped.

'Oh, I was just telling him to follow us straight and when we go, head far left and follow us into the bay. From there, it's about a kilometre walk, up a narrow set of stairs and we'd have to wait for the gates to open at four, before we head in.' Ella explained.

'Okay, and how did you both do that through ice and fire?' Will asked the question of everyone's mind. 'Like, you used to do it at home, but you used to literally make an ice sculpture of tea to ask him,'

'We're both developed a lot from then,' Ella said and we passed another out stuck cliff, and then the top corner of Kingdom came into view. I let out a sigh, but it was more desperation. My daughter was in there. My daughter was being held captive in there, along with my niece. And we just assumed everything would go okay – and we'll waltz in, grab them and leave. I doubt it would be that easy.

'Just down there, Will,' Ella said, and Will turned the boat sharply and headed down my side of the cliff. Ella held out her arm, running her fingers across the jaggered edge of the cliff. Will cut the engine, stilling the noise; even though the guards were around the corner of the cliff and it would have been impossible to hear the noise of the engine.

'Give me a second,' Michael said softly, kissing the side of my head before he jumped off the side of the boat. I watched as Joe did the same thing, before he held his hand out for Ella. Ella then jumped out of the boat, into Joe's arms, before swimming around the back of the boat, helping the two boys push the boat back into the beach. It didn't take us long to get into the shallows, where we all climbed out and picked the boat back up, dragging it onto the small beach. We carried it all to the back of the beach, smashing it behind a large rock. Ella and Joe walked back out into the ocean, getting waist deep before starting to swim again.

'How are you feeling?' Michael asked me, leaning against the rock before pulling me onto his lap, but when I was leaning against him still.

'I don't think it'll be as easy everyone is saying,' I whispered.

'It might not be, but if it all kicks off stay right by my side, okay? We're getting the girls out one way or another,' Michael whispered. I heard the second boat get slightly louder as it was approaching the beach. Ella and Joe were already swimming waiting for them to come in.

'We're just trusting a letter,'

'Yeah, we are, but we couldn't wait around,' Michael told me. The boat turned around the corner, with Xav jumping out the boat to join Ella and Joe.

'But we'll have her back tonight,' I sighed, grinning and Michael hugged me.

'Then we can get on with our lives, just never letting Nic out of our sight,' Michael whispered to me.

'I'm not having my own kids, they're too stressful,' I muttered to Michael and he raised his eyebrow, his hand moving gently across my abdomen before he held my waist.

'Well, that would be no fun,' Michael whispered lowly.

'Michael,' I whispered as he kissed the side of my neck, 'this really isn't the time,'

'Mm?' He said. 'I think this is the perfect time,' He whispered, 'Why don't you want kid?'

'Because look at what's happened to Nic,' I sighed, looking behind me as Michael stopped kissing my neck to look at me.

'This, none of this happened because you was a terrible person, or a terrible Mother, Sam, this happened because someone had a terrible, _terrible_ agenda. This didn't happen because of you. You are an absolutely incredible mother, Sam,' Michael said to me so softly. 'It's completely up to you, if you ever wanted too and when, but I'm there for that,' He whispered.

'But what if I want to get married first?' I asked him and he just smiled, bending down to kiss me gently before jogging down the beach to help with the other boat. Wait – did he suggest something that I didn't get? What was he even suggesting?

'You ready to go now?' Vick asked as we placed the second boat down. At some point since our boat had been brought up, Sky had managed to wake up Lucy and she had started to be a bit more awake, hugging herself. Vick immediately walked over to Lucy, hugging her.

'You did brilliantly, Luce,' Vick told her, and she smiled at his praise.

'I think we're ready,' Michael said, checking everyone who was in our group of eight was nodding. Ella and Joe had stripped off their wetsuits, and had changed back into normal clothes which had slight wet patches on which indicated the speed of their change. Michael came beside me, unzipping his wetsuit where he was in just a pair of swimming speedos which really emphasises the shape of his incredible body, before he got changed again.

'You ready now?' Ella asked and Michael nodded, shrugging on his backpack. He handed me my backpack, and I did the same thing. There was a round of hugs between everyone, and I stood awkwardly on the side. Trace was the first one to come up to me, hugging me tight.

'Good luck, little sister,' He said to me despite the fact this was the first time we had met and we weren't related at all. 'You'll get her back,' he said.

'Of course she will, she's badass,' Vick said behind me, pulling me into a hug after.

'Thanks, I guess,' I whispered.

'You'll be fine, Sam, don't you worry, you have some of best people looking out for you. You'll become addicted to these almost suicidal missions,' Vick said.

'Come on then, kids,' Will said, waiting by the rock.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

It was a treacherous walk heading towards Kingdom – we had to walk flush with cliff edge, up and down the sand piles and rocks. We had put on splasher shoes – those awful shoes you see kids wearing at the beach. They had good grip but weren't doing much for looks or anything. We also were in single file; Joe at the front leading the group with Ella behind him, sending his directions. Lucy was after her, with Sky just behind, and between Ella and Sky they kept showing her the way; her attention was keeping us invisible rather than on where she's stepping. Zed was behind Sky, Will behind them, and then me and Michael following at the back. We had been walking for God knows how long in the heat – the black clothes weren't helping – in near enough silence with the tension settling on us like heavy iron weights – that we didn't even notice what we was approaching.

Set in the sea in front of us was a small wooden dock, with two boats moored to it – both were cheap boats which had algae growing on it showing the age. It left one side open, which I could only assume was for another boat with perhaps delivery. A wooden path followed a steep slope mid way into the cliff face, and into two heavy duty metal doors which were pressed close. The door frame had red lights around it. On top of the door, though, was a balcony-type metal platform where four guards stood, one facing straight towards us, then two out to sea, and then one out to the right. All four had bazooka sized guns. There were two staircases – one on each side – which headed up to the flat of the wooden slope next to the door.

On noticing people, Lucy had began to focus a bit more, able to drop the shield against the others down a mile or so back, but really focused on holding the shield against us. Will took the chance to go out and around Sky and Zed, to stand next to Lucy, putting his arm around her waist so he was able to guide her. I looked at the watch, noticing it was only five minutes until the shifts changed – that would explain the really calm body languages of the guards – they were exhausted with fatigue.

We all kicked off our splasher shoes, clipping them to the outside of our bags as we began to walk bare foot extremely quietly across the sand – Lucy's shield can also hide sound but we didn't want to stress her out too much by playing the tambourines as we walked. Joe paused by the stairs and Ella gestured for him to go up.

Very slowly, we all walked up the wooden stairs – thankfully none of them creaking, and we all huddled by the metal door. Joe mouthed, "follow our lead," before he quickly kissed Ella. Michael hugged me to his side. He bent down to whisper in my ear.

'I love you, Sam, stay by my side,'

'I love you too,' I whispered back, my voice breaking.

The Clacton sounded, signalling four o'clock.

'End of shift,' The man above us yelled. 'We're gone,' He said and we heard the sound of heavy boots on metal.

'We have to wait or the other dickheads to come out,' another man said.

'They're running late, there's a delay in the lifts,' we heard a third man say and all of them grumbled. However, the metal door opened – clearly on a pneumonic timer – and we all took the moment to sneak in.

We were welcomed into a dark and slim corridor; with metal walls and small circular lights with exposed bulb on the wall about six feet high. We weren't walking on wood anymore, but some high grade marble which was cold underfoot. The metal doors whooshed closed behind us, and the door got immediately darker, the only light coming was a dim dome around the light bulbs. There was just enough light to see the pathway we were going. A fleeting thought had passed; how did they ever fit deliveries in here? I had seen the deliveries to Blakeley and the cages they used to transport would fit down here but without much space. So what were they taking in? I did a headcount, and all eight of us were here.

'There's no audio traps in Kingdom; they never worked to start with, so they removed them when I was seven,' Lucy explained, finally waking up a bit more now we were inside. The shield didn't have to be as strong, just like her normal shield that would make everyone look the other way.

'So where should we go, boss?' Zed said.

'Is there some kind of delivery bay?' Will asked.

'Yeah, just down this corridor is the stock holds, where people would split the deliveries and hand them over to the correct floors,' Lucy confirmed.

'Should we go there, hide until the guards change, and then head into the main Kingdom?' Michael asked, rubbing my back and Lucy took a juddering breath. Ella was immediately by her side, Sky was there seconds after. I frowned, thankfully unable to see her emotion, but I could tell she was distressed.

'I never wanted to come back here,' Lucy whispered.

'You can leave, Luce, if you want too? We can get Jason to get the third boat out to pick you up?' Ella offered. Lucy considered it for a moment before shaking her head.

'No, I'm here to get the girls out.' Lucy sighed and Ella hugged her.

'Thank you,' Ella muttered to her and Lucy nodded. I walked over, despite Michael's frowns and hugged her too.

'Thank you Luce,' I whispered to her, hugging her tight. I don't do hugs often, but if my potential sister was upset because she was doing something for me, and for my kid, then she deserved this. Hell, she was returning to the place she was imprisoned and tortured, raped and kept a slave for fifteen years, and then kidnapped and held hostage too as well, in order to get Lily and Nic out, I'll be forever in her favour. I would never be able to repay her. She was incredibly brave – and to do this all without Jason beside her, and with Tyler at home, she deserved some kind of medal. Lucy eventually hugged me back.

'Anything for you, sis,' She whispered ever so faintly that I wondered if I had imagined it, but when I pulled back the very small smile on her face gave it away. She did say that. Does she know the results of the test then, and we were sisters? Or was she just hoping?

'Danger level is rising, I suggest we hide now,' Will said and Ella nodded. We all started to jog – all coordinated with each other which amazed me – down the twisting corridor; a left, right, two lefts, up a ramp, and to the right – and we ended up in the stock hold. It was full of metal caged, palettes of water, tinned food in stacks, fresh food in boxes, a massive fridge-looking room which had lights on.

'Where do you think Will?'

'Everywhere is safe, just not in the open and now in the first row by the alley,' Will whispered. From the door on the other side, to the door we stood in now, was a straight path marked with the same marble flooring that made up the corridor – the other flooring was black matte material. We all broke up from the group, and Michael pulled me behind the tinned fruit, ducking down and pulling me down with him.

'How are you doing?' He muttered to me every so quietly. Lucy was just in front of us and she leant against the wall, throwing up an individual shield against us.

'What you do is crazy,' I muttered back and he grinned at me.

'You have no idea,' He whispered back, keeping his hand on my waist as we could hear talking coming down the corridor. He gently put his fingers against my lips and I nodded, and very soon we head the footsteps of four angry men, with steel toe capped boots, walking against the otherwise quiet of the room.

'This place is bullshit,' One of the guards said.

'Well at least _your_ wife didn't go missing,' another man said.

'Shit happens, get over it,' The first guard retaliated.

'Boys, stop,' A deeper voice said. 'We know we're on high alert until they fly the new assets out to the training facility. You know who the new assets are; too, they are the kid's of people high up. We have to be on high alert until they fly them out,'

'When do they fly them out?' The missing wife guard asked.

'Three days time I think, they're hitting Blakeley again and flying them out together. Bringing the suspected total missing to ten. That'll be enough, for now, the boss says,' The deep voiced guard replied and Michael looked at me. My lips started to quiver and my eyes teared up. What were they planning? Any hope they had treated Nic well vanished. And it explained the missing kids from Blakeley. But they were going to hit Blakeley again. The kids were nothing more to them than "assets," – and where were they flying them out too? Michael gently kissed me – probably to stop me crying or to get my head back in the game – before he just kept looking at me. His eyes calmed me down. Even now, his eyes sparkled. The sound of boots went and I got up.

'Sam, get down,' Will hissed, and Michael pulled me back down. A few seconds later, the four guards that were on duty had come around the corner. However, these guards were silent with exhaustion. They just walked through, pausing only briefly to grab a bottle of water from the stack. We waited a few minutes.

'We're clear,' Will said and everyone got up.

'Did you hear what they said?' I asked and Zed nodded.

'They're going to hit Blakeley again,' Zed said, clicking his fingers before hugging Sky.

'They meant it, too,' Sky said, 'they weren't lying,'

Oh, I could have used my gift – I thought. But I was too busy caught up looking at Michael. That was really embarrassing.

'We need to get the girls out now,' was all Ella said. 'How good are we to go, Will?'

'Er, we're good to go down to the corridor. Ella, now we're in, can you project?'

'Yeah, I already checked down the corridor. There was no one waiting in the bottom floor, if Cactus was doing his part he said he would leave when the Clacton sounded for the 4pm changeover, which means he should be heading down here, right?' Ella asked.

'Well, he might be late. The lifts run from the most important floors down, so if he was in normal rooms his lift would call for him about now – is there no way to try and trace Lily?' Lucy replied back.

'I've already tried, nothing, hang on,' Ella said, closing her eyes again. Joe caught her around her waist. 'There's a lady down on the floor at the moment, Joe, can you see her?'

'Yeah, she's the cleaner it mentioned in Cactus' letter,' Joe had closed his eyes to join in on the projection, 'She's wondering where we are, but more important where Agent 1021, and 1011 are. There are two agents coming down?'

'Agent's are everyone, Joe, Agents refer to any males, females don't have titles,' Lucy said. 'But why is there two?'

'Don't know, the cleaning lady knows they're good friends. She's fiddling with the CCTV wiring – Luce, does your gift work with cameras?'

'Well, when you look at the image your brain won't pick up around the shield.' Lucy added.

'You'd be such an amazing shoplifter,' Zed told Lucy and she smiled softly.

'You would have given Phee a run for her money,' Will commented too.

I frowned, not quite knowing what they were referring too but I went along with in away. The stockpile Kingdom had was incredibly impressive; it would be enough to feed a medium sized army for a week. I realised with a sinking feeling that was what they are. They are an army against good Savants or perhaps humanity – they thought they were superior. It was impossible to know exactly what they were planning, but it wouldn't be good. They would use our own kids against us. They would turn their innocence into weapons against us. Lucy had told me how the kids who were born here were raised to be soldiers, or if they were females, they were raised to be cleaners or stay-at-home mothers. "Stay at home," in itself was very allusive – this wasn't home for them. This is a god damn prison. They were using kids against everyone. No, they were using _our children_ against us. We had to get them out.

I had started to stew in anger. Why hadn't they arrested this man? He had murdered people, kidnapped; he used his own daughter as sex bate, to be sold off for status. He shouldn't be allowed free, and he definitely shouldn't be allowed out of a straightjacket.

I looked across to Lucy, who was looking at me with a slight anxious look. This was her family, this was her past. This might have been my family. The man who belonged in a straightjacket might have been my father. If I was related to them, and I was dumped, then this is where I would have grown up. I would have never had Nic, and I would have been classically conditioned to hate people like Michael, who just wanted the good. I looked over at Michael, who must have been listening into my thoughts and just hugged me tight. Everyone else was frowning, apart from Joe who just nodded. He understood my thoughts too.

There was too much emotion without the time to be able to process it. And my gift wasn't even working, so the second I saw someone who wasn't in our little group it would be some kind of overload. I was so racked with nerves that I didn't have time to properly think about it, I missed Nic so much. I was excited, scared, astonished and so many other things that I felt like my entire body was on fire, but at the same time I felt numb, unable to process properly. Michael must have noticed this because he was starting to lead me around a bit, making sure he kept me in reality. I was so tired.

Without so much of another word, we started to file out the room, one behind each other next to the wall, the cold metal touching my arm. We walked down the corridor for another minute or so, everyone walking so quietly you could barely hear footsteps. It leads to a metal door, with room to swipe a card. We all looked to Ella who grinned evilly, pulling out a loyalty card for Nando's and freezing the magnetic strip before she swiped it. It took a moment to process the card and Ella froze the entire system, destroying the motherboard for this door, and it opened a few inches. Michael and Joe tried to peel back one door, Zed and Will doing the other. They managed to open it just enough for us to sneak through, and the door remained open enough for us to all slide in.

The room was another stockpile, this time for laundry. There were rows of washing machines, which must have been quite old as they were loud and you could hear them clanking. They were to the right, and to the left were rows and rows of those bookshelves that had cubbyholes, and each one had numbers and letters probably indicating rooms, with folded linen inside. There were hundreds upon hundreds of cubby holes filled with linen. However, a member of staff continued to put away the fresh linen after she had finished ironing them.

Lucy gestured to us to be quiet before we all spread out around her, Michael and Joe blocking the lift door. We watched as the cleaning lady finished ironing before pulling out her mobile telephone, dialling someone.

'They're not here,' The cleaner said when the phone picked up. The man on the other side of the phone swore.

'Okay, er,' The said. 'Nic, Lily, don't worry, they're coming,' We heard him say to someone and I looked immediately to Michael.

'We're here,' Michael said and the cleaning lady jumped. 'Where are they?'

'What...?' The cleaner whispered.

'Daddy?' We heard Nic say on the other end of the phone.

'Hey, Nic, we're here, don't worry,' Michael said softly.

'We're coming to get you,' Joe said.

'We'll bring them down to you now,' One of the men on the other side of the phone said, and we would hear another man talking to the girls. He hung up before we could ask – we were prepared for one of the guards, not two.

'Where are you?' The cleaner asked – Lucy still had our shield up.

'Where are the CCTV's?' Lucy asked her. The cleaner, Barrian I believe her name was, pointed to one in the corner, and one above the door. So, it was the two Lucy said, and Ella nodded. Very quickly, Lucy swapped the shields to put them in front of the camera, making the room seem empty, despite there being nine people down here. Barrian jumped back, suddenly surrounded by everyone. She looked towards the door.

'How did you get here? What happened to the door?'

'That doesn't matter, how long will they be?' Joe urged.

Having the kids back with us was just in touching distance. We could see on the LED screen next to the lift door it had been called to the thirty fourth floor, so they were probably getting in now.

'Lucy? Is that you?' Barrian asked.

'Yeah,' Lucy said and Barrian hugged her tight.

'Oh, Lucy, you've changed so much, I'm so glad you're safe.' She whispered and Lucy frowned, clearly having no recollection of the woman who hugged her. The woman seemed to be in her mid forties, with olive skin and weary beady eyes, but she seemed to be happier when she saw Lucy. Perhaps they did know her.

I watched the LED screen as it started its descend down. 30... 26... 22. I could feel my chest started to tighten as I struggled to breath. 18... 12... 4. Michael put his arm around me as the lift continued it's descent down here. It reached floor 0, and then continued to -2, -4 before the LED's turned green on -5.

Everyone hesitated slightly, Zed and Will already pointing their guns at the lift, which were full of rubber bullets, Lucy was hovering just out of view behind Will, Sky was by the side of the lift ready to attack them – however at the height of five foot and incredibly skinny too, I was wondering what damage she could do. However, she had got a job in Maui recently, so she must have something stashed away in her.

We heard the service announcement in the lift announcing they were on ground minus five, and the door opened.


	36. Chapter 35 - Sam

**Chapter 35 – Sam**

Nic immediately ran over to me, and I bent down and hugged her tight. Michael bent down and hugged both of us together, both of us checking she was okay. She still had a bandage around her head but it didn't detract anything from her. I could hear Joe and Ella talking to Lily on the other side of the room as well.

'Oh, Nic,' I whispered, hugging her so tight. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes, Mummy, I missed you,' Nic whispered in tears.

'You're not hurt, are you?' Michael asked her and she shook her head before grinning at him, hugging him. He immediately picked her up, resting her on his hip where she rested her head against him. I stood back up, my hand of Nic's back. I noticed the bandage around her head, but it looked like a fresh bandage. That would be the cut the boys were on about at base that she got at home when she was kidnapped. Someone did take care of her, then. I looked over at Ella and Joe, who was holding Lily in their arms. They were both talking to her, before Ella looked up and checked on Nic. I nodded at her and she smiled slightly. She nodded too – so Lily was fine as well.

We then turned our attention to the agents who had brought them down. Both of them were tall – about the same height as Michael, with dark brown hair and pale skin, bright green eyes. They both looked between Michael, and then Ella, and back to Michael, and finally Ella before they looked at each other. All the boys wondered their behaviour and I heard one of the Benedict's click their magazine in their guns behind – did that mean they changed to real bullets? I looked over at Zed and Will, who both had the gun trained on the two men. There was something about Zed that raised alarms – he was the one who was getting ready to shoot.

'They don't remember us,' one of the agents asked the other one. I identified as the younger one as the one who spoke. He looked older than me, but more juvenile than the older one.

'Give them time,' The older one said.

Remember them?

'You're the bastards who stole our kids, we remember you,' I snapped and the two guards looked at me.

'We're the bastards who nearly got ourselves killed bringing your kids back,' The younger one said to us.

'Let's just get out, I assume you have an escape plan,' The older man said, diffusing the conversation. I had never called someone a bastard and I had to take a moment.

Ah – an escape plan. Did we have one? I looked over at Michael who was eyeing the two guards with confusion. I looked over at Nic, who was still resting her head on his shoulder. I wondered why everyone was still standing around and not shooting these lunatics. I looked over at Zed and Will, waiting for Ella and Michael's direction to do anything but they weren't saying anything. What were they doing? They looked over at each other, before looking back at the boys.

'Mum never raised us to not have a backup plan,' The younger one whispered and looked straight at Ella. Her face dropped as she realised something. She looked over at Joe, who was still baffled by that comment, and looked back at the man who was looking at her, a smile of his face.

'Cameron?' Ella whispered.

'Hey, little sis,' The man whispered back. 'I didn't lie when I said it's been a long time since I saw you, I don't like the way you've grown up, and I saw "grown"... but it's been a while.' He replied looking her up and down.

'Twenty years,' The other man said.

'Chris?' Ella added and I looked over at Michael and he frowned.

'Eleanor,' He replied back with a smirk.

'No, no, you're both dead. You two, you're _both dead,'_ Ella said, emphasising "dead," and her voice broke. 'You both died. You,' she pointed to Chris, 'You were very much dead, you were so deaded, and as for you, I saw you. You died in the car. We, we saw you. You were so dead.' Ella said.

'You can't be,' Michael whispered, his arm coming around me and pulling me in closer, like he was hugging me – protecting me against witchcraft. Was I the only one here who had absolutely no idea what was happening? I looked around the room; Joe appeared to do on the same level as me not know what was happening but was putting it together. Wait – were they all related? I looked between the two men and Michael. They were pretty similar. The two soldiers had crew cuts though, and were a lot skinnier from the shitty diets they must have here. Lucy was frowning at the two guys. Will and Zed, however, were on the same level of confusion as me, and they both still had guns pointing towards them.

'Michael, neither of them are lying to you,' Sky whispered.

'Okay, so now you know that can you tell your friends to drop their guns please?' Chris said, gesturing to them two. The silence dropped in the room against and Ella and Michael picked up telepathy. They were clearly debating if they could trust their own siblings. I remember Michael telling me that only he and Ella survived the crash and everyone else died. They had just found out that was wrong; four of them survived. Two of them were standing in front of them. It must be a hell of a bombshell, and the fact they're both so calm about it still shows they don't quite believe it. The sheer shock of it. It's like finding out that Lucy would be my sister. I wouldn't be able to coherently respond to that.

'Zed, Will, drop the guns,' Michael said, not taking his eyes of them.

'Zed? Will?' Chris whispered, looking at them. 'You were both kids, you could barely walk,' Chris said, looking at Zed.

'Er, should we get out of here now?' Lucy muttered. 'Like catch up perhaps in the boats? Where we are safe?'

'Lucy!' Cameron said before running forward and hugging her tight, 'Please say you've been keeping safe?'

'Yeah,' Lucy replied hugging him back.

'That's my girl,' Cameron said. 'And you must be, Sam, right? Heard a lot of good things about you,' he said to me, before ruffling Nic's hair. She smiled softly at him but she was already falling asleep unaware of the danger we were in.

'Okay, still standing by the "we should get out of here card,"' Lucy said.

'I agree with her, let's go. They might notice we're gone any minute now,' Chris said. We stood for another second before Will turned around and walked out the door.

'Let's get going then,' He said, sliding back through the door. We had all followed him single file, Lucy concentrating on getting the shield back up around us, the two kids, and now Chris and Cameron too who were coming with us. What they would do with them, I have no idea. Michael paused to hand Nic over to me, kissing her on the forehead before gesturing for me to go through the door. I slid through, my hand over Nic's head, and waited for Michael to come through. Instead, Chris and Cameron came through first, smiling softly at me as they walked in front of me. Michael was the last one through the door, and Ella unfroze the door and it closed behind us.

We walked back through the corridor, through stockpiling, and out to the doors leading to the delivery port. We all stopped at the door.

'I'll freeze the door open again,' Ella said.

'No need,' Chris said, walking to the front of the group. He pulled out a pager, which displayed a random series of numbers and letters. He slid back a bit of black plastic, typing in the key code and the door lit up with green, and slid back silently.

Lucy gestured for everyone to be quiet before pointing to the boys.

'Leave your boots,' I whispered to them and they frowned. 'Lucy can block sound too, but it's not very strong. You need to be quiet, and steel toe caps aren't the way to do that,'

Cameron and Chris looked at each other before they both undid their laces, kicking off their boots leaving them by the door inside. We knew it was a stupid idea; it would very much give them a solid trail to them escaping but if they were honest and sincere, they would do it. They took off their shoes quick as anything. I frowned, before going into their heads. Perhaps it wasn't fair but my catalyst wasn't picking up any emotions from them that was concerning; but concern and shock. Looking deeper into their minds I saw that they were genuine and they wanted to escape. Chris was more concerned than Cameron was, but he was more concerned on what to do in the long run. He knew they didn't have trackers in them, so there was no way they would be able to find them, but heading back to Maui would be a stupid idea. The second they leave base, they'll be onto them. But then, what would happen after that? Where exactly would both of them live? The main source of anxiety was wondering if Ella and Michael would ever accept them back. He was shocked by how much they had both grown up but it was inevitable.

Cameron was more concerned about how his kid brother and sister were doing with everything; which so was I. Both of them had grieved over their deaths for years and now they were alive, extremely well. How it was possible I don't know, or what will happen. They'll have to go back with Jason in the helicopter with the girls. I looked down in my arms, where Nic was still leaning her head against me half asleep.

'I love you Mummy,' She whispered.

'I love you too, Nic, we have to be quiet sweetheart, is that okay with you?'

'Okay,' She said, hugging me. Michael came up behind me, putting his arm around me before bending down to kiss Nic's forehead.

'Let's go,' Ella whispered, double checking with Lucy that the shield was in place. 'Just follow us, we've got back up a mile or so down there,'

Single file, we all crept out the door and hovered the threshold of wooden platform. Cameron and Chris looked around, small grins on their face as we made our way down the stairs and down onto the beach. All of us were riddled with silence; on our way here we were terrified. And now, we left thousand times more confused than we had ever been before.

How did these two – I looked at the two men in front of me – survived a crash that killed them? I frowned. Michael had opened up to me about the crash; and it was brutal with many causalities. They were heading to Colorado for New Years, and they had taken two cars down to the airport. The first car had the older siblings in, whilst the back car had the three youngest in; Cameron, Ella and Michael, and their mother was driving their car whilst their Dad was driving the first car. It was snowing; incredibly icy and it was advised on the news don't travel unless it was important and necessary. But they had too to catch their flight. However, they were travelling at 60 mph, which is lower than the normal on a motorway, but a large truck had started to drive the other way towards them – it was on the wrong side of the road with a foreign plate. The first car had gone to swerve, but had skidded and had rolled over, hitting the concrete central reservation. The first car had been completely flattened. The second car had managed to slam on the breaks and got some reduced speed before they rolled, only hitting the concrete at 20mph. Ella and Michael, who were in the back, came away alive. Cameron, who was in the front, died at the scene. So did Chris, the oldest in their family and who had called shotgun in the front car. So how were they both alive? They were both in circumstances that made them impossible to live. I stopped walking and Michael walked straight into me.

'What's up, Sam?' Michael asked immediately – we had past the first cliff break and were in relative shelter for now. We still had another half a mile or so left to trek. He looked over at Nic, who was now asleep on my shoulder.

'You did the thing you checked her DNA, found a link, right?' I asked him and he nodded, gently putting his arm around my waist.

'You and Lucy?' He asked.

'No, you and your brothers,' I said and he stopped and frowned.

'I didn't think of that,' Michael sighed, slipping his hand into mine. There was a moment of stretched silence between us two, and neither boy turned around. I continued to walk over the sand of the stretch of beach, Kingdom behind us and the boats to get us back home in front of us. 'They're both who they say they are,' Michael sighed and shook his head in disbelief. Ella turned around at this point and there must have been an exchange of words between Ella and him, as Ella nodded before saying something to Joe as she turned around.

'They're your brothers,' I whispered. He came around to my side and picked up Nic from my hip. I watched as he gently made sure Nic was resting her head against his shoulder, and the way he held her tight, running his hand over her arm and then her hair, before kissing her, just emphasised how much of a good father he was. I gave him too much stick. I frowned, realising that one day I would want my own kid with him. Another kid, in an odd way. Nic will always be my first kid, but I was more than willing to accept the risk of having a second child – the first biological kid to me. But not for years easily, I wanted to be completely settled.

But this is Michael's life; he would never really be settled. This is what he does for a day job, just normally other people's families involved rather than his own. But it was such a critical job, if I didn't have him on my side, I might never have got Nic back. I owed him a lot for that, and I don't think I would ever be able to repay him.

'It's... insane, Sam,' He whispered, putting his arm around me. 'For years, I wanted all of this and it came around within a few months,'

'Mmm,' I said, slightly confused but content at the same moment; what did he mean he wanted "all of this"? – was he referring to the situation, and finding out his two dead brothers were very much alive and were behind the kidnap of his daughter? Or did me mean having a family?

'Bad phrasing,' He said and I nodded. Oh yeah – terrible phrasing. 'I mean, I wanted you, and I wanted a family,' He sighed slightly, kissing my forehead.

'What's going to happen now?' I whispered to him, looking over at Nic who was fast asleep on Michael. She must have gone through a lot, bless my little girl. But I finally had her back safe and with me.

'We have to hand her over to Jason for medicals and to get her statement, but after that I'm not too sure. The boys were sorting something out, but it's hard now because we have to include those two,' He nodded towards his brothers who were walking in front of him, muscles clenched and on the look out for anything that shouted Kingdom, 'for now, we just do as we are told, and don't let this little one out of our sights,'

'I don't want to give her to Jason,' I muttered. I had just got her back; I don't want to give her up this soon. I would be able to see her again in a few hours, yeah, but I had just got her back. I didn't want to loose her. I looked over at Joe, who was carrying Lily on his shoulders and the way Ella kept looking up to make sure she was okay; I doubt either of them wanted to give up their daughter too. 'There's no way to bend the rules on this one?'

'No, Sam, I've checked but there is no way in Hell,' Michael said. 'She'll be fine, though, she's in good hands,' He sounded certain, but I could tell he didn't want to let Nic out of his views. We had said we weren't letting her go again, but only to proceed to her go again. I sighed – I knew it was for procedures, but it would be the longest five hours of our lives to get back to base knowing they were there without us.

'She'll be fine?'

'She'll be with Jason the entire time; they'll be more than fine,'

We had just started to climb over the rocks to the alcove where we hid the boats when Trace noticed us and smiled when he saw the kids, but his face went hard when he saw we came with two strangers. He immediately walked away, talking to someone else. We had just got to the top of the rock, with both Michael and I overtaking the two boys as if to protect them. We all filed over the rock bed, no one spoke to anyone – how could we say what had happened. Michael helped down from the rock, offering his hand as I jumped down, before he kissed me gently. Nic, who must have been exhausted, was still sound asleep with her head draped on Michael.

'Who are they?' Vick asked and I immediately turned around, wondering who he was on about. I see Phee standing beside him, frowning at the rock behind us. We both turned around, seeing both Cameron and Chris awkwardly on the rock, frozen. What was happening? Did someone from Kingdom catch them?

'Phee, it's cool,' Ella said. Oh – Phee had caught them with her time freeze gift. 'They're, well, they're our dead brothers.'

Ella wasn't cool with the whole thing; that much was clear. Why she wasn't okay with it was the question. I looked over at Ella, frowning at her before dipping into her mind. She was annoyed, but it was more that she couldn't comprehend what was happening. For years, she had survived with survivors guilt, she had mourned her brothers and sisters, she thought they had died. She kept thinking about what she saw; she saw Cameron covered in blood not breathing. The other car which had Chris in was flattened. How did they come from that car crash to be Soldiers in Kingdom? Ella hugged Lily a bit tighter, like trying to protect her against Cameron and Chris. Like they were ghosts. Oh, that made a lot more sense. Ella was seeing them as ghosts rather than living. I looked over at the two brothers on the rock where they were still standing, before Phee gently dropped her gift. They both walked down to the beach, looking around at everyone.

'Are they safe?' Victor asked Michael.

'Yeah, we need to discuss everything with them the second we get back to base. Perhaps put them in the car and put them under, or stick them in the helicopters, it's up to you.' Michael replied and Victor nodded.

'Helicopter most likely, get them to base as soon as they can to get them questioned,'

'How are the girls? Did anyone detect you?'

'The girls are just tired but I think they're okay – no one's detected us so far but I wouldn't recommend hanging around. Get the boats ready as soon as we can,' Michael ordered and Yves started to pull the boats out. We all chipped in, helping to get the boats back down the beach. I hugged Nic tight and she had surfaced from the nap.

'Mummy?' She said to me softly.

'Yeah, Nic?'

'You allowed me to call you Mummy,' She whispered.

'You can do whatever you want too now,' I told her, 'apart from leaving me again,' I said.

'I've missed you Mummy,'

'I've missed you too,' I whispered.

'Are the nice men coming with us?' She whispered, looking over my shoulder to where Cameron and Chris were. I turned around slightly to see them both standing next to the rock bed, watching everyone intently. Nic waved at them and Cameron smiled slightly, waving back at her. Chris said something to him, and Cameron nodded before looking over at Michael. They were clearly discussing how much Nic looked like Michael, which was an incredible amount.

'Er, yeah,' I whispered to her and she grinned at me. 'Nic, you're gunna go back to Daddy's work with Uncle Jason, okay love?'

'Are you coming with me?' She whispered.

'No, but I'll be there as soon as I can. Uncle Jason will be with you, and so will Lily. You just have to answer a few questions to Uncle Jason, he'll make sure you're okay too, and then we'll be there okay?' I whispered, but it already felt like this would tear my heart out. I didn't want to leave her already. It'll be an awful five hours until I could see her again.

'We're ready,' Michael came up behind me, hugging me and gently kissing Nic.

'Will Daddy be coming with me?' Nic asked.

'I'll be with Mummy,' Michael said. 'We will see you the second we'll be back, okay sweetheart?' He said, gently leading me to the boat. It was just in the very shallows, and Lily was already in the boat sitting on the floor looking anxiously at her Mum, who was standing in the water next to her, gently playing with Lily's hair. Joe came over beside her, kissing Ella gently. Lily asked something to Ella, and she nodded. Michael walked back into the water, gesturing for me to join him. I put Nic in the boat and she sat straight next to Lily. We had gone back in the boat order that we had left in, but Cameron was coming with us and Chris was going in the other boat. Sky and Zed came up to the boat too, joining Will and Lucy. Lucy said something to Lily softly and she nodded.

'Let's go then,' Will said and we had started to push the boat in. Both Lucy and I jumped into the boat and Nic came over to me, sitting on my lap as I held her tight. Sky got in after, Ella joining her next and picking up Lily who immediately wrapped her arms around Ella's neck. Cameron climbed in and sat next to me and I frowned slightly. Zed and Will got in, before Michael and Joe. Will took over the rudder and immediately turned on the engine and started to head us back to the beach.

We sat all in the boat in silence, Nic hugging me tight. She didn't want me to go and leave her. When we reached open water, I turned around and saw the other boat coming around the cliff corner. I smiled into Nic as Michael put his arm around me and the other around Nic. She turned around and kissed Michael.

'Sorry Daddy,' Nic whispered only so I could hear it, as well as Michael.

'What for, pumpkin?' Michel asked her.

'I bought a storm into your house,' She whispered. 'I'm sorry,'

'Nic, don't worry about it. I'm proud of you, okay?' Michael whispered.

'You're... proud? Like happy? ' She whispered.

'We both are, Nic, we both are proud of you. We both love you,' Michael said, hugging her tightly.

'I love you both too,' She whispered to us. 'What's going to happen to Cameron?' She asked. Michael looked at me as I frowned at him.

'Er, we don't know yet,' I told her.

'He's not a baddy, Daddy,' Nic told me.

'I know, Nic, but it's not up to me,' Michael told her softly. I looked up behind the boat to see the ice spears and the fire balls going up again as Ella and Yves continue to communicate without the use of telepathy. We were just heading to the breakwater of the beach where we left when Ella broke the silence.

'Kingdom has triggered the alarm,' Ella told us.

'We should still have time,' Lucy said.

'They'll search the entirety of Kingdom before the ground and work into the grounds and then head out, as long as you get the helicopter up within the next fifteen minutes and start to drive off by then, they'll find it harder to trace us down,' Cameron added. 'I hope you have a plan, though, they know exactly where you live, and they'll be waiting the second you step foot out of Maui. A part of the truce between Luman and you guys is that you can't touch him because of his crimes if he doesn't step foot on the property of Maui. Even when the kids were kidnapped it was outside of the Blakeley,'

'Crap,' I whispered to Michael and she shook his head at me.

'Don't worry, the boys all have a plan. They didn't tell us so if it all went sour they couldn't pick it out of our heads.' Michael said and I frowned at him – did they have a plan? Since when? Michael didn't know the plan but at least he knew there was a plan. Which was a load more than I knew? I just assumed we would be playing happy bunnies and head back home which I could only assume would be stupid. They knew where we lived; it'll be inviting them back for round two. I hoped whatever the plan was; it was a good one with immediate effect.

Will steered the boat back into the beach, pulling up at the side where we got off. Joe was the first one to jump out, followed by Will, Zed and Michael, and Cameron last who pushed the rubber dinghy back into land. Michael came up to me and gestured for me to pass Nic, who complied willingly. Ella passed over Lily, careful not to get her wet before Ella dived back into the water. Lucy got out next, offering me a hand to get out.

'How are you coping?' She asked me softly as everyone left the boats.

'I'm good – how are you, Lucy, being honest with me?' I whispered back to her and she looked at me with tears in her eyes. Michael turned around and came straight back out to see why I wasn't beside him. Lucy was hugging herself, and it was possibly the worst I had ever seen her. She had return to the place where her father who abused her for over a decade was. There was only a matter of floors between them. Of course she wasn't okay. My question appeared stupid. I didn't want to hurt her anymore, but the question seemed to have just upset her. I hugged her tight.

'I've cleared you to go with Jason,' Michael said, hugging her to his side. Lucy nodded. 'He's just coming down now,'

I looked up onto the beach where Michael was pointing and saw a shape jogging down to where we left the windbreakers up. Lucy immediately ran off and headed towards the shape, and as they met the two collided into a mess of arms, with Jason picking her up to spin her around.

'They're too cute,' I sighed and Michael put his arm around me.

'So are we, though,' He said.

'We can't compete with them,'

'Didn't realise it was a competition,' Michael said to me, bending down to kiss me.

'Mummy, Daddy, no,' Nic sighed.

 _I don't think I can give her up so soon,_ I told Michael, who looked down at Nic and then back at me.

 _I don't think I can either._

 _Let's just break the rules and go with her._

 _The helicopter is already at its max people carry, Sam, we really do have to drive back._ I could tell Michael wasn't happy about it either. He wanted to be with Nic as much as I wanted to be with Nic.

 _Fine._ I sulked and Michael just guided me back onto the beach, out of the way of the second boat which was coming in now. Jason and Lucy had finally stopped hugging each other and had split up, with Jason heading over to Ella and Joe, and Lucy back over to us.

'I guess it's time?' I asked Lucy and she nodded.

'Jason said the sooner, the better, especially with the alarm going off,' Lucy muttered. 'I'll take care of her, Sam, I won't leave her side,'

She must have seen the hesitation in me and she hugged me. Jason had wiped her tears away and he must have done something to calm her down as now she relatively tranquil.

'We're family now, right? You can trust me,' She muttered softly and I nodded.

'Thank you,' I whispered back, watching in silent agony as Lucy took Nic off Michael, who said goodbye to us – we paused to give her a kiss and a hug – before Lucy walked back to Jason, who had hold of Lily, and they both walked up the beach, each one with one of our kids on their hip. Cameron and Chris followed them but there was a bit more distance between them. It didn't take them long for them to walk up the sand ramp out of the beach and I just turned into Michael's chest and started to cry.

I don't know what had happened to me; the pressure and the stress of them going missing combined with the relief of finding Nic and then immediately losing her again got to me. Michael wrapped his arms around me tight, rocking me slightly as I continued to cry into his chest. Thankfully, his black shirt wouldn't show up the mascara stains I would have left. Michael kept telling me time after time it'll be okay, and we'll see her the second we're back but I couldn't calm down. I heard him say something over the top of my head, and the sound of people talking slowly decreased until there was no sound left. Michael picked me up before sitting down on the ground, resting me on his lap.

'We'll see her again shortly, Sam,' Michael whispered to me.

'I know, I just want her here,' I muttered realising how pathetic I was.

'You're not pathetic, Sam, not in the slightest. This has all happened so fast, you haven't had time to really process what is actually happening. It's okay to cry,' He muttered to me. 'You're doing brilliantly,'

'How can you say that?' I whispered to him. 'I'm a mess,'

'With all the right reasons. Nothing like this has ever happened to you, you've never been involved in the bad side of Savant's, and in a month all of this has happened and only now you're crying. You are absolutely incredible, Sam, I love you to bits. You're such an incredible mother too, you care so much about Nic,' Michael whispered to me.

'And I'm not here for her,'

'You can't blame yourself for the rules, my love,' Michael whispered to me.

'I let her go, Michael,'

'You didn't let her go, you did everything you could to stop the kidnapping. You were injured too, and they wouldn't let you get to her either.'

'I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me, or you wanted to leave me, or you never wanted kids with me, I'm a shit person,' I muttered, suddenly feeling so dark and tainted. Michael simply lifted my chin and kissed me, wrapping his arms around me gently.

'I don't hate you, I don't want to leave you, I do want kids with you. You did nothing wrong, Sam, you are not to fault for this, you've done incredibly well. I love you so much, my beautiful girl, and all of this might take a few months or so, but when it does and we get back to normality,' He smiled slightly.

'What does that mean?' I asked – was I missing something.

'Nothing, come on. Let's get back to the car,' Michael said, picking me and putting me on the floor, holding my hand as we walked back to the car. In the distance, I heard a helicopter take off. It took another minute for me to see the helicopter flying over us, a bit too high to see in but close enough to see it was a Maui helicopter. The rest of the walk was done in silence, with Michael opening the door for me, letting me slide into the middle seat again. He sat in the passenger seat, closing the door. Joe simple smiled at me, hugging me slightly awkwardly. Ella smiled at me, and Trace put the car into gear and started to drive off.

'We should be back around ten tonight,' Trace said to me and I nodded. 'Er, Tobias left the car, the look outs said he caught a bus to head to the train station,'

'Oh,' was all I could say. Bastard. That might be my new favourite word.

'Also, Sam, Michael, we've decided it'll be better for the statements and probably for you guys too be put under by Joe,' Trace said and I looked at Michael. 'Joe and Ella will go down as well; he'll put it on a timer for five hour, so you'll wake up when we're there,'

'Okay,' I said and Michael nodded.

'See you all in five hours, then,' Trace said. It'll feel like going to sleep, but when I wake up I will have Nic back with me. I was okay with that. I wanted my little girl back. I could feel Joe start to enter my mind, before a sensation of sprinkled dust. My eyelids started to feel heavy as I leant into Michael, and not even a second after that, I was plummeted into a slumber.

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I eventually woke up at God knows what time, curled up on my side with a dead arm. I frowned – how was I lying down in the car? I was incredibly confused, considering that Joe was one side of me and Michael the other, so how exactly did I end up lying down? Unless I was lying on Joe, which would extremely awkward but he would allow it. He was too paternal to not allow it. Too pure to ever turn down someone's request. I think, if I never met Michael, I would have such a crush on Joe with his good looks, innate kindness and charming personality. He was just too cute, and he was such a good father and husband – he was always there for Ella. I envied that, Ella always having someone by her side and being incredibly good with kids. Just looking at them, they really were family goals. I wanted to have someone like that when I settled down.

I realised with a slight shock that I did have that someone; I had Michael. He was everything I had wanted; he was someone who was incredibly gentle with me, who made me realise I was something important. He was the guy who held my hand when we were in the town centre, the first to defend my name the second someone so much as thought I was someone I wasn't, he was the one who played with my hair when I was too stressed with the school work. He held me in the morning when we woke up, and every time I felt useless he would tell me I was incredible.

It didn't end with me either; he would take Nic out every afternoon to the woods, he would build dens with her. He would read her stories at night when I had too much work. He would make her dinner, even helping her make cakes on the weekend. He told me he was more than willing to, one day, have his own kids with me. The current situation made it near enough impossible to think about a future, but I was glad he was up for having a family.

'Sam,' Michael very gently whispered and I opened my eyes, turning my head immediately back to where I heard his voice. 'Morning,' He said.

He sat on a chair next to the bed in the hospital and I frowned.

'Hospital?'

'You didn't wake up from Joe's gift,' He muttered to me. He got up, moving the chair to the other side of the bed. I moved my head, noticing the thing giving me a dead arm was Nic, who was still asleep curled up into me. I hugged her to my side, screwing my eyes up. I didn't want to lose her again. Michael gently squeezed my arm.

'Don't suffocate her,' He whispered softly.

'Is she okay? Have they got the statement? Can we bring her home?'

'Apart from being tired and dehydrated she's fine. Both her and Lily have to stay in for twenty four hours just for their drips and observations. They've got the statements from them, the boys are been completely cleared as well but they're still being questioned heavily. I don't know the plan for when you and Nic get discharged, because they know where we'll be heading and it's pretty safe to say they had plans for her, but they're working on the plan at the moments,' Michael whispered quietly.

'Who's they?' I asked.

'The Benedict's are working on it for us,' Michael whispered. 'We'll work it out though,'

'Sorry,' I muttered and he frowned at me, 'It would have been so easy if I didn't come into your life,' I sighed and he frowned.

'I was nothing without you, Sam, yeah this scenario isn't good, but you didn't cause this. You, and this little one, is the best thing that's happened to me ever,' Michael said to me. 'I don't know what I would have done without either of you, you know that I'm not lying. I love you to bits, Sam, and even if this takes time to settle down, we have all the time in the world. We have the rest of our lives together,' Michael whispered to me before leaning in to kiss me. It wasn't a long kiss but it was incredibly soft and tender, full of emotions.

'Mummy?' Nic whispered as she woke up. Her eyes were still closed as I looked down at her lying on my arm. Michael was immediately beside her too. 'Daddy?'

'Hey, Nic, we're right here,' I told her and she rubbed her eyes before hugging me tight. I rolled over, pulling her onto my chest as she wrapped her arms around me. Michael sat on the edge of the bed, and I pulled his arm to include him in the hug. He laughed slightly, lying down beside me, hugging me lightly and putting his arm around Nic. This was my family; I thought to myself. This is my family that I have all to myself. Sure; some people would say mine and Michael's relationship wasn't long term yet but we wouldn't break up. We might argue, we might never see eye to eye and we might struggle with our volatile impulsive behaviour but I love him to pieces. I wanted everything from him. Michael looked up at me, obviously hearing my thoughts and nodded.

'Are you going to leave me?' Nic asked.

'No, Nic, we're never going to leave you,' Michael said. 'Are we, Sam?'

'Nope,' I said, popping the "p" and Nic looked back up to me. 'We are not letting you out of our sights,'

'Okay,' She whispered, yawning. 'Can I have chicken nuggets tonight,' She asked Michael and he just grinned at her, looking down with almost tears in his eyes.

'Of course,' He whispered back, 'With those potato smiles you like?'

'Ya,' Nic replied, yawning.

'Good choice,' Michael said.

'Can I have them now?'

'It's half one in the morning, Nic,' Michael said and I looked at the clock – how long had I been asleep for? But still, sleep was dragging on me and there was nothing more at the moment I wanted than just to fall asleep and not wake up for a few hours.

'Oh,' She whispered, rubbing her eyes.

'Go back to sleep if you want too, Nic,' I told her softly.

 _You go to sleep as well, you look shattered._ Michael told me.

 _I'm fine._

 _You're not, you look so drained. Just go to sleep, I have work to be doing and I'll wake you up if anything important happens._ Michael told me softly, rubbing my arm. _Sam, you need to rest. You are so tired that you're not thinking properly, you're going to get ill and you're gunna need to be able to function properly in the next few weeks._ Michael almost begged me.

 _I'll be fine._

 _Sam, please, you're not. You're exhausted,_ Michael said softly as I started to cry.

 _I'll be no help,_ I sobbed.

 _We won't be doing much in the next few hours, I'll wake you up if we do anything important, okay sweetheart?_

 _Fine,_ I whispered as Michael hugged me, kissing my forehead before I looked up at him.

 _I love you._

 _I love you too,_ I whispered back and he rolled over slightly, letting me lay on his chest like I normally do. Combined with Nic on my chest, I had felt at home again. I love Michael, and Nic, and this new family life we had formed before she was taken and I hoped Michael was working on a formula to make sure the person who took my Nic was behind bars. I hesitated, wondering if they had the email from the labs about the genetic test between Lucy and me, but I was too tired to ask. I closed my eyes and not even half a second later, I was asleep on his chest.

* * *

 **Hello! I hope you like this chapter! Everything kind of happens at once, and of course we welcome Cameron and Chris (Chris is the oldest of the siblings, Cameron is a year older than Michael,) - and also congratulations to Sabinethafangirl for guessing who Cactus is! I thought I hinted at it subtly!**


	37. Chapter 36 - Michael

**Chapter 36 – Michael**

I had waited until the clock above the hospital room door stuck two o'clock in the morning before I started to move. Sam had fallen asleep in my arms, her lips parted as she breathed her nose against my shirt. She hadn't woken up from Joe's gift with the speed that I did. Myself, Ella and Joe all woke up on the five hour marks when we were only three minutes away from the gates; Trace informed us we had hit some traffic but we made good timing. Sam didn't wake up quickly – or at all. I carried her into the hospital and called Jason to check her over.

He had brought Nic up with him and I had hugged her so tight, sitting her on my lap before I asked her to tell me what had happened. She explained that Cameron had cared for her, cleaned her cuts; let her grow a forest in the room. He never threatened them, but treated them nicely. He kept the kids informed on what was happening and the plans. Cameron appeared to have nothing to hide, and was being genuine. The only thing wrong with the girls was dehydration. He made a kidnapping for the girls stressful and like an impromptu holiday for them. Nic wasn't at all stressed, just tired. Jason said that Sam was just asleep; she wasn't under Joe's gift anymore.

However, for precautionary reasons, Nic and Lily had to be placed on an intravenous drip to get them hydrated again and whilst they slept. Nic was more than willing to share a bed with Sam, and was an angel when Jason put the needle into her hand for the drip. Nic then kissed me goodnight, telling me she loved me, and happily went to sleep on Sam's arm, hugging her Mum slightly, like nothing major had ever happened. When Sam woke up, it was easy to tell she was completely shattered and I was able to persuade her to sleep. However, it wouldn't be so easy with me.

I edged out of the bed, kissing both Sam and Nic on the head before I crept out of the room. Walking down a few rooms, I came across the room Lily was in. Ella was standing against the wall, her hair only just visible from window, watching what was happening – which wasn't much. Joe was asleep on the hospital bed, with Lily in his arms; which was similar to how I left Sam and Nic. However, they must have found a Perspex cot and they had Charlie asleep in there. It was just Ella that was awake and she didn't seem too happy. I gently knocked on the window, causing her to jump as she turned around, before walking out.

'What are you doing up?' I hissed to her as she pulled the door closed, not to disturb her sleeping family.

'I can't sleep.' She simply said, rolling a shoulder in a shrug.

'Neither can I,' I sighed back at her. Everything was weighing on us; our children were not safe, there was a plan we had to follow without knowing what it was, oh – and two of our brothers we saw die in front of us was alive. Ella was more affected by it than me; I was able to process the grief properly and was conscious for their funerals and memorials, the charity pages to support both Ella and myself. Ella, however, for four months was in a coma. She woke up unable to speak, walk or breathe properly, and when she was told her family had died she didn't understand. She kept asking for them. And it hit her too hard. No five years old should ever experience that. She had just turned five when she woke up from the coma, but no one was there to celebrate it. Ella suffered heavily with survivor's guilt, and she had managed to bury the emotions completely after meeting Joe. It wacked everything into perspective for her. However, finding out two of our brothers hadn't died shook her up again. I frowned – why was Joe letting her go through this alone as he slept?

'I spiked him with sleeping tablets,' Ella said, running her hand through her hair.

'You did what?' I asked

'He needed sleep,'

'You need support; you're not dealing with any of this okay!' I shouted at her and she shrugged. It proved what she said; he was definitely on sleeping tablets or he would have woken up. 'He won't be happy, will he?'

'Oh, God no,' Ella muttered. 'He needs to be okay for the kids. We're probably going to be flying somewhere until they can bring down Kingdom – I can sleep on planes.' Ella whispered.

'What do you mean we'll be flying somewhere?' I asked deliriously.

'Well, we're not going to go home are we? That was exactly where they got the kids from. Safe houses in England are ruled out because of what happened to myself and Joe, it's too close and they won't risk it again, and as if they'd be dumb enough to send you to Blakeley or Frimley to stay,' Ella sighed. 'So, we're moving temporarily until they can bring down Kingdom,'

'We haven't been able to bring down Kingdom for years, Ella, we can't bring down Kingdom, we'd have to get Carnes and he has a pardon on his name,'

'About that,' Ella said, grinning at the floor. 'I need to find Trace and Vick,'

'You need to get your arse into bed, or I'll telling your husband you spiked him,' I told her and she shook her head, hugging herself a bit tighter.

'He'll already know, he won't be happy,' She repeated the fact he won't be happy and I knew she was scared, but she couldn't change the past. Neither of us could change the past.

I think that's something both of us struggled to remember. That we can't change the past, and whilst that in itself is a bad thing, it will all work out. We can't change the fact our family died, and we can't change the fact we ignored each other for so many years. We can't change the fact we grew up on other sides of the world. I can't change how Ella viewed herself for years, and when she needed me the most I never picked up on anything. We can't change the fact she attempted suicide. I can't change how badly I treated Joe when he told me about him and Ella – and that's despite how much I've tried to make it up to him and Ella. But, despite how bad the past is, everything happens for a reason and whilst we can't change what's happened in the past, we can change how it affects us in the future. So whilst Ella might get yelled at by Joe when he wakes up and realises he's been spiked, Ella can change how it'll impact her in the future. We can't change the fact that our brother's somehow didn't die in the car crash, but we can try our hardest to include them in our family and help them out as much as we can.

'Fine, let's go find Trace and Vick, then,' I said to my sister, and she nodded solemnly before taking one last look at her sleeping family before walking towards the exit of the hospital, followed with me hot on her heels.

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It didn't take us too long to find where the boys were. Ella projected straight over to where she could sense them to see them all sitting in the Twist, and since it was Ella's building she had the passes to enter at all times when anyone else could only ever enter during work times. They must have been in there since they had returned at just past ten – four hours ago. We stopped outside the door whilst Ella put her key card into the door, opening up just enough to let us through single file. The door whooshed closed as we pressed our index finger on the scanner, which then beeped as it clocked us into the building, which would allow the rest of the doors to open to our Maui swipe cards. Ella walked straight down the hallway and into the last room on the right. I followed her.

'Ella,' Trace said, frowning as she walked into the room. Victor closed his laptop lid slightly frowning at her. 'I thought you were asleep – in hospital,'

'Nope,' She said, popping the "p" as she sat on a chair.

'Where are Joe and Sam? And the kids?' Victor asked her gently.

'They're asleep in hospital. We're not,' I added and they both frowned at me but they seemed to understand.

'What's the plan?' Ella whispered, running her hand through her hair.

'We're working on it now, Els, go back to bed.' Trace told her gently and she shook her head.

'No point,' Ella sighed.

There was a heavy silence between us. Trace and Victor looked at each other with concern visible wondering what to do exactly; I could see Will and Uriel sitting in the dark shadows in the room on a tablet-like device, both of them with thick puffed headphones on so they wouldn't be able to hear what was being said – and I wasn't entirely sure they knew we were in the room either.

'This is about Cameron and Chris, isn't it?'

'Partially,' Ella owned up. 'Have you got their statements for us to read?'

'Not yet,' Vick told her, gently hugging her. 'But we appear to know more about the crash now,'

'What do you mean?' Ella asked.

'You know investigators thought it was staged, set up, as revenge for the work your parents did with Maui when it was first set up?' Vick asked and we nodded, 'Well, it was more staged that we originally thought. The ambulance crews that came were actually fake,'

'They can't be – we got to hospital,' I interrupted.

'Yes, the plan for the crash was to have you alone on the road and then have the fake ambulanced cart your family away so it would appear everyone was dead. However, the situation never happened like that; your parents did die in the crash, as well as Sophie, Jodie and Marcus. One of the cars who were behind you who witnessed the crash called the police and the ambulance, which is how you two got out. They never picked up on the fact the other ambulance crew were phonies. They took Cameron and Chris, who had life-threatening injuries back to Kingdom where they had people who's gifts were medical, such as Jason and Xav's gifts, to fix them up. It took them a little over two years to get them good as new, and then they were trained into Kingdoms regime. However, they tried to remove the memories of what had happened from them, to use them both as a weapon against you two, and our entire family, it never worked. They were aware of what had happened and were already fucking the system around to make sure nothing had happened to you. Chris was higher up than Cameron, but Cameron was the one who kept risking everything to make sure you were safe. Neither of them knew what had happened last year until after you broke out, but Cameron was the one who kept the guys who tried to kill you, Ella, in Cornwall away from you. He kept hacking into the system and giving them leads elsewhere.' Victor explained and Ella frowned before resting her head on the table. I went immediately to her side.

'It's a lot to take in – they understand that like we do,' Trace said to her softly.

I looked over at Ella, and she was just frowning at the table. Someone had wanted to kill our entire family? For our parents helping to set up Maui? The entire crash was planned – they paid someone to drive down the road the wrong side but it turned sour pretty prompt, with them actually murdering people. A fake ambulance took Cameron and Chris away from us, whilst myself and Ella were actually rescued and taken to hospital. They could have very easily taken us with them, too. Our entire family would have thought that Ella and I would have died at the same time when in theory we were all alive, just slaving away in Kingdom.

'It adds up to what Lucy says too – she remembers Cameron from her time in Kingdom, he was referred to as Agent 1021. He helped make the plans to get her out of there before she would have been married off. She had no idea the links he had to our family.' Trace said and we just nodded.

'What's the plan?' Ella sighed wanting to change the subject – a sure sign that she wasn't coping okay or wouldn't quite comprehend what she was told. Her brothers looked at her, and then each other.

'Er, we're moving you back to Wrickenridge,'

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We pulled over outside my house in the absolute darkness, and I pulled into the turning circle. Victor had told us we were flying out the second we had our stuff and everyone was awake enough to sign the paperwork. We didn't know how long we would be there for, though, so we had six bags and a few boxes to fill with things that we would put on the plane for our temporary house. Victor had explained to us that the FBI had rented out two houses for us, opposite each other down one of the smaller roads in Wrickenridge, quite close to where Sky used to live with her parents. It leads on near the woods. Ella grew up scaling the woods and knew the shortcuts through fields around the back of the town that led to her parent's house. It would be a safe place for us to stay, and the kids could go to Kindergarten there so it wouldn't affect their education at all and during the day, we would do what we could to try and bring down Kingdom. Lucy, Jason and Tyler were moving over too, but they had a house two down from us. It wasn't safe for them either. Cameron and Chris were staying with Victor as well, so we could deal with this.

We had already gone around to Ella's house, packed down clothes for everyone, Charlie's baby stuff and Lily's toys. She had done it emotionlessly, but she seemed so sad when she handed over her dog to Jake to look after. Her stuff had been sent back to Maui in a van to be packed into the jet – we were using one of the limited aircraft Maui had to fly off the books to Colorado. We were to pack down my stuff into the car, and we would have a few hours.

We walked down the door in silence, using the new key from the new locksmith who had visited at some point in the last two days since Nic was taken to open the door. I sighed audibly and Ella frowned at me. Sam won't be happy with me – she'll blame herself for us having to go to Colorado. But she had Nic back so hopefully she won't be as down as she was before but I knew what she was like – I knew she would blame herself for us having to move across the world, away from everyone she knows into a job – bringing down Kingdom with the help of Maui and the FBI – that she's never done before. Ella spoke to Vick about her plan and he agreed to think into it, but she never told me.

'How do I convince Sam that none of this is her fault?' I asked Ella as we both walked upstairs to the bedrooms. We stopped in the corridor.

'Er, I just guess tell her that this kind of thing has happened before but not to you, it's not completely uncommon, and that she never had any part to play in this so how can it be her fault,' Ella said. 'I'll do Nic's stuff,' She said, obviously not wanting me to go into that room. They had left the blood from the cut on her head in the room, as it was a crime scene. I nodded, thankful I wouldn't have to see that a second time.

'Can you find her bunny and take it with you, not pack it down?' I asked her, remembering how before she was kidnapped she never wanted to be parted from her bunny. She would need some resemblance of home. She's only a kid – so is Lily. Why have they been dragged into this?

'Yeah,' Ella said, taking two of the big sports holdalls into the room with her – they were the two and a half foot bags with compartments and a solid base, and Ella had developed what I call "retailers folding," where she would fold clothes up incredibly neatly and in an order, like they do in clothes shops, and they would be able to fit in any sized compartment. Ella doing Nic's room would be incredible, she could pack down all of her clothes into a bag and still have another one free.

I walked into mine and Sam's room, and immediately paused on the threshold. It was like walking into the room of a relative who passed; there was an eerie silence and an ominous feeling about this room. The broken window was replaced, and the box that was filled with gas has been removed and the scissors used to cut Sam's jogging bottoms open had all been removed but everything else was still here including the blood from Sam where they had hurt her. The duvet was still pushed back on the bed, revealing the mattress protector. Sam's charger remained on the side, where I had taken her phone before taking her to Maui, and it was still turned on. There were tissues on the bed too – did she cry? Why would she cry? It hit me hard that I was the reason she would have cried that night because I stormed out because I read her thoughts. I was so self indulged I didn't realise I was in the wrong for reading her mind to start with. My entire gift focuses on the bad in people, and not the good. Of course I would read the dark thoughts. I've lived with this curse long enough and I should know not to freak out – but I did anyway. Sam is different. I love Sam; I don't think I can go back to a life that wouldn't involve her. The second she was in pain or in conflict, I panicked and needed to help her.

I threw the four bags on the bed, opening one as I went through Sam's drawers taking things she would want me to take for her; a few dog earred books that she would read before bed when I was up doing paperwork, a notepad and some pens she swears are gifts from the Gods because of how well the ink flows, body butter and moisturiser which smelt of vanilla cupcakes. A Yankee candle in a jar. I sat on the bed, rolling the items in my hands as I thought of the memories each item held. I never realised how precious she was until this moment. I hadn't been the best person to her, and she deserved better than myself. I had filled not even a quarter of the bag when I finished the drawer, and frowned as I saw an envelope in the bottom. It had no name on. It was a padded envelope and I could feel a book or something in it.

I flicked it over in my hand, weighing it up. I didn't want to open it, as it wasn't addressed to me. But it wasn't addressed to anyone. And I couldn't just pack down something that I didn't know what it was. Against my judgement, I emptied the envelope content onto the bed.

There were photographs that were yellowing with age and little memorabilia but the main bulks were two A5 reporters pads – one with wavy pages and well thumbed pages and the other with a few pages in use. I opened the elder book in my hand.

It appeared to be a dream journal; each page had six or seven dreams on. The dates all went back to when – I did the maths in my head – when she was twelve. I went thought dreams of schools, lessons, private moments, and beside each one was a neatly printed "came true," in a light green pen. My mouth dropped as I went through six years of the dreams that had all come true for Sam, and not in a cute sense. I read one that described her graduation from Blakeley in a lot of detail and the same green pen. The day after, there was one about her gaining a child over night, but the book ended. I flicked through the next book, and there was a year or two absences, but it started up again on the day she got Nic. The dream journal simply said, "Nic was handed to me – the last dream came true" before it started up again.

I wondered if she had kept this going when we were together. I flicked to the last few pages of writing, and sure enough it had. Sam had been having a recurring dream about losing Nic, and had describe how panicked she had been at Blakeley about losing Nic. She thought it would be a custody thing but it linked in with the dreams. She had honestly thought there would be a custody battle between myself and her which would involve her losing Nic, but what had happened was thousands times worse. She didn't write anything next to it in green pen, though, but her losing Nic against her will had most definitely come true. However, it was the last dream that made the world stop. Considering how one word could cause this, I realised exactly what had happened and what the dream journal meant. My girlfriend and Soulfinder could see the future in her dreams. And the second thing was, her most recent dream she had on the night she had moved in, the last one she had document, she had wrote very plainly and with a distinct lack of detail, "pregnant,"

I shouldn't be reading this, I thought to myself in a panic. I put the two notebooks into the envelopes and the pictures as well and threw it into the bag. Was the room suddenly really hot? And spinning? Where had all of the air gone too? I laid down, realising I was very close to passing out – something that had only happened to me once and that was when I found out Ella was pregnant – and tried to breathe deeply. Just because she dreamt it doesn't mean it'll happen – and if it does it could be years away. There was quite a few years gap between the two notebooks.

'How many toys do you think Nic should – why are you having a nap?' Ella came around the corner before she frowned at me.

'Er, just tired,' I lied – I was no okay. But how would I bring this up with Sam? She had never even mentioned the dreams, let alone she thinks she can see the future in dream format. And she would brutally murder me if she knew I was snooping through her stuff. But I couldn't not talk to her about it either.

'I appreciate you're a terrible liar, but you need to try harder,' Ella said but thankfully she didn't probe as to why I was having a mental breakdown. 'I'll continue with how many toys I think is enough, I've left her bunny out, any other requests?' Ella asked me and I just shook my head when wanting to ask her about what I had just found. She frowned at me, before shaking her head as she walked out. She has no bloody clue!

I sat up again trying extremely hard to breathe, and be calm. It might not be as catastrophic as it seems. Sure, my girlfriend can see the future in her dreams and she saw/dreamed that she was pregnant. I wasn't ready for that. I realised very quickly that I wasn't ready for it. But there was a part of me that was ready, who wanted it more than anything. But, not at the moment. When Kingdom was still around, I wouldn't want to risk it.

I looked out the window to see the sun was rising; it had started to fill the sky with a deep orange colour and the wind had picked up slightly. However, it had only turned half five. How long had we been here for? No – the question would be how long was I breaking down over something that hasn't happened yet. I didn't even know if Sam could see the future despite the evidence I had just read. I had to keep reminding myself that there was years between the two books – the last dream before her graduation was gaining Nic. She didn't get Nic until four years ago. That was... I couldn't do the maths quickly enough but that was a long time. So perhaps this was really into the future and I just needed to chill. My brain continued to run at a thousand times a minute as I continued to pack down all of Sam's clothes into the two holdalls and just over half of mine into the bags, as well as other essentials. Near the end, we had gutted all the essentials from the house and managed to Tetris them into the bags, and we had put the bags in the back. My breath shook slightly knowing I had to confront Sam later. I couldn't hold this to my chest, and she said she wants no more secrets despite hiding this. So, I'll talk to her later.

She'll hate me, but I need to know.

* * *

 **Hello! Sorry this took a while, I started university this week and also I'm kind of loosing motivation. Time is a bit tight and the only way I know people like it is through reviews and I haven't got many recently but hopefully im back on track but please let me know if you like it! :D**


	38. Chapter 37 - Sam

**Chapter 37 – Sam**

It was around eleven in the morning when I woke up again, but I felt at home. Nic was back with me, asleep happily in my arms still. I opened my eyes slowly, and sure enough Nic was curled into me, and the IV drip was in my hand again. Frowning, I looked around the hospital room that we had crashed in last night but Michael was nowhere to be seen. Most likely doing paperwork and sorting out whatever was needed from both of us, as he just let me rest. I had wondered what the plan was for after we got the girls, because heading back home where they found us the first time around would be foolish – but where we escape too? I knew there was a plan, and the Benedict's had sorted it for us but I would have liked to know what it was. I completely lacked control. All of my life I had control of my choices but now it had been completely taken out my of hands. I could have dealt with it if Michael was calling the shots but even he didn't have the authority this time around.

I think Michael understood me when we were at home together – if someone has lacked control all of their life, where any decisions they make aren't causing an impact or are taken out of their hands. The second your choices mean something, it's like you've finally got control of the situation and you're free from the bird cage you'd been confined too. However, now it feels like I had been tousled up and shoved back into that birdcage, sitting on the rung with Michael, Nic, Ella, Joe and their two children. Anxiously waiting for any movement or decisions made without permission.

'Mummy?' Nic whispered, just waking up. Over night, they had put another saline line into Nic to help bring her hydration back up – I remember Jason gently waking me up in the morning to tell me so I didn't freak out when I woke up. 'Are you up?'

'Yeah, hey Nic,'

'I missed you, Mummy.' She muttered, cuddling into me. I hugged her tight, but was very careful not to knock her IV line. 'Where's Daddy?'

'I don't know, sweetheart,' I whispered back to her, getting slightly irked he wasn't here. I remember him telling me he wasn't going to sleep so he may as well do work, but I would have assumed he would have been back by now. He must have been gone for over ten hours. 'He's safe, though,' I whispered to her as Nic nodded.

'Can we go home?' Nic whispered.

'Er, I don't know,' I told her again. I wish I had answers for her. I jumped awake as the door slid open, and Michael walked in wearing pair of skinny jeans and a shirt, and he looked drained. Nic went to run over to him and I had to hold her in place as Michael walked over to her quickly, sitting on the chair next to her.

'Careful sweetheart,' Michael said to her, hugging her gently but was extremely careful not to tug on the IV line. I looked up at him with a combination of betrayal and confusion. Where did he go, and why does he look so tired?

'Hug?' Nic said, tapping the bed next to her. Michael just looked at me before nodding, climbing onto the bed, putting his arm around my shoulders and hugging Nic tight.

 _Where were you?_ I hissed.

 _We have to move, I was packing down our stuff._ Michael replied to be guardedly. He had yet to make eye contact with me. What had he found of mine? Was he annoyed with me?

 _Where are we moving too?_ I asked him.

 _America. It's just until they get the people behind kidnapping the girls for their own safety. We're flying out later today._

'You're all so cuddly, how adorable,' I heard Jason say as he came into the hospital room. He was already dressed, but he looked rested. 'Big day, kiddos, get up - you're not even ill, get out of bed,' He hit Michael's arm as we watched them. Michael stood up from the bed as Jason came in.

'Hey, Nic, how are you doing now sweetheart?' Jason asked her.

'Sleepy,' She whispered to him.

'Oh, you can sleep later,' Jason said pulling out her chart. He checked how much of her drip she had left to go and nodded. 'Is your headache gone?' He asked softly and Nic nodded.

'Is Lily awake?' Nic asked and Jason nodded.

'Yeah, she was asking about you,' Jason said sweetly to her. 'I'm just going to take this out of you, and then you can go and see her, will that be okay sweetheart?' Nic nodded, holding her hand out at Jason. Very swiftly, Jason took down her drip, pulling the tube from her hand, capping the needle, before pulling the needle out of her hand, putting a plaster straight on the small pin prick of blood it made. Nic flexed her hand, before grinning at Jason. She sat up on the bed, looking over at me and I smiled and nodded and she jumped off the bed and ran out the room to go and find Lily. Michael was watching me hesitantly.

'You can take out Sam's, right?' Jason asked Michael and he just nodded. Jason frowned looking between us two before he just shrugged. 'Alright, meet you in the Twist in half an hour,' He said, leaving the room.

'Hand,' Michael said and I held out my hand which had the drip in to him. 'Is there anything from the house you wanted,' He asked me softly, gently holding my hand as he copied what Jason did with precise movements. I didn't have much at Michael's house that was personal apart from clothes, a few books. The realisation hit me with a heavy stomach when I started to think. At the bottom of my bedside cabinet I had a book. I sighed, realising how stupid it was – and a stupid place to put it.

When I was younger, after the whole period of illness, I decided to keep a journal and a sleep journal too. The dairy type journal bored me quickly, but there was a pattern to my sleep journal. I would regularly wake up with dreams, write them down and they would be forgotten in the morning. I would never read my sleep journal, until an event happened. It turns out; my dreams were predicting what would happen, from small events like dropping a cup of water in the cafeteria to gaining Nic. Well, I had a dream I gained a child who was left for me and refused to continue to dream journal, which had pushed it too far, and for five years it was completely fine, nothing happened and I realised it was stupid. And then Nic arrived, and I started doing it again and sure enough, a dream happened, the events that corresponded to the dream happened. I sighed, realising there was a nightmare where Nic was taken from me. That happened too. Michael held my gaze. There was a dream about him too. I was pregnant with his child. I wanted my dream journal; I wanted to keep it safe with me. If I was away from home for a long period of time, I would want my journal with me. But Michael would think I was weird, and let's not even mention how much he would flip out about the pregnancy dream if he knew about it.

'Er, there's an envelope at the bottom of my drawer,'

'Yeah, already packed that,' Michael said, looking away from me.

'You've... read it, haven't you?' I asked shocked. That was why he was acting weird. In a swift motion, Michael pulled out the needle in my hand and I flinched away from him. No wonder why he was acting weird.

'I wondered if you needed it,' He muttered.

'You read it!' I protested back.

'You never told me you could see the future in your dreams, Sam,' Michael said, frowning at me. 'You never even told me you kept a dream journal either,'

'How much did you read?' I asked.

'Most of it. All of the recent ones,' He said, looking straight up at me with a knowing look in his eyes. Oh no. Oh no indeed. 'Why didn't you tell me, Sam, why didn't you tell me you can see the future?' He whispered to me – perhaps he didn't see the dream about the pregnancy test? Why didn't I tell him? Because it seems so stupid that I just gained a random gift I never had? Would he have believed me? Debatable.

'And the baby dream,' He whispered to me and my pulse dropped completely as I stared at him in shock. What do I do?

'Why were you reading my stuff?' I snapped back, using it as a defence for a conversation I really didn't want at this moment in time. He simply shrugged.

'I wondered what it was and if you wanted to take it,'

'That was mine, Michael,'

'What happened to no more secrets between us?' He asked me.

'No, this is something completely different,' I protested to him but I felt bad. I should have told him, he deserved to know. It was his house, and if my dream came true it would be his child. Our child. He deserved more than anyone to know but I was too scared to tell him, in case he would hate me or thought I was attention seeking. Michael frowned at me before his face relaxed and he gently held my hand, rubbing my thumb with his.

'I don't think that, Sam,' He whispered. 'How long has this been happening?' Michael asked me as he pulled me to sit up.

'For ages, since I was seven I always thought dreams seemed familiar, and then I started that dream journal but I never told anyone, I didn't want them to worry, and then I had hidden it so long I just assumed I thought I was making it up,'

'I don't think you are, it's too consistent, I think you do see the future,' Michael told me. He believed me. I smiled slightly. My fear of not fitting in, or of being called a liar, disappeared. Michael meant so much to me a simple sentence made me feel a lot more assured.

'But then... the last dream,' I muttered and I looked up at him, and he just shrugged.

'Babies are cute,' Michael said. I launched myself at him, hugging him tight. He picked me up in his embrace, gently kissing my neck. I felt safe – home again. A heavy weight caused by hiding such a massive secret was lifted. 'Hopefully not too soon, though,' He muttered into my ear and I laughed tearing up. I held him tight holding back tears.

'I love you,' I whispered to him.

'I love you too,' He mumbled to me. 'One day,' I knew he was referring to my dream that I had.

'One day,' I repeated. 'We just have to be safe,'

'We can totally do that,' Michael said, putting me back on the floor before taking my hand. 'You ready to move, then?'

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

I sat on a metal bar bench in the hangar, with Michael on one side of me and Nic on the other. Nic was more than content colouring like she hadn't just been kidnapped and Michael was on his laptop doing the last few bits of paperwork needed for our visa's in America, and for the house. It still hadn't sunk in what we were doing. We were moving to Colorado for the girl's safety. I was moving to the other side of the World and I seemed completely fine with it.

Tobias still hadn't been seen, though, he left the car for a walk "to calm his nerves," he told the security guards, but he never returned. He was seen at the bus station of CCTV though, and he got on a bus to Barnstaple, but we lost him from there. We could only assume he made his own way home.

I leaned forward slightly, admiring the private jet that was in front of me. Paid for with British Tax payers money, it was dark grey and black, the same colours as Maui, and had twenty six windows, not including the front window. It was of a pretty decent size. Michael had told me they used it mainly for transporting teams of twenty four around to various locations in moderate luxury. All the "teams" within Maui consisted of twelve, with two high up members and ten others. However, everyone heading back today was family or round about enough. Ella, Joe, Lily, Tyler, Lucy and Jason were all on the same flight as us, and the entire Benedict's, their partners, Saul and Karla and the kids too. I wondered how well the flight would go with so many toddlers, but Michael didn't seem bothered. As I watched, some men were loading on the luggage into the belly of the plane, and I saw the holdalls Michael had packed for me. I had checked through them and was mildly confident that nothing had been left behind.

Michael continued to type quickly beside me and I leaned back sighing, before resting my head on his shoulder. He smiled, leaning his head on mine as he continued to type but I frowned. I remembered something I should have asked ages ago.

'Michael,' I muttered to him.

'Mm?'

'Did you ever get back the DNA test between me and Lucy?' I muttered and he stiffened up slightly.

'You asked me not to tell you the results until this is all over,' Michael said, frowning down at me.

'I asked you not to tell me until we got the girls back,' I corrected him. 'The girls are back. I want to know, Michael,' I told him and he looked at me for a second, the hesitation making my gut dropped. It was negative, then. She wasn't my sister. Michael leaned forward, kissing me gently.

'I'll get the email up,' He said softly, minimising the forms before bringing up the emails he had been sent in the last few hours (and there was a substantial amount,) and he pressed a file, scrolling down before finding the email. He opened the attachment before showing me. I could feel his eyes boring into me and I frowned, reading the email. Most of it was medical boring stuff, and words I've never heard off. Frowning, I read down to the summary added on. It was the line three from the end that got me.

 _Substantial genetic link between subjects with significant evidence to proposed idea of siblings._

'Lucy is your sister, yeah,' Michael whispered ever so softly. I looked up at him before I leaned in, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kissed me gently before pulling away. 'I know when you start thinking outside of Luce that it might not seem good, but it doesn't change the way I see you. You are still the most beautiful, most caring and selfless person I have ever met and –'

'No, no, I don't care about them, Michael, because blood means nothing. Lucy's proved that. But, I finally have a family! I have someone to call a family!' I told him and he smiled sadly at me. I frowned – why was he sad? I probed him emotions and saw that he was sad because he thought I didn't include him and Nic as family. 'Michael, you know I include you, you are my everything. You and Nic are my family too,' I told him softly, putting my hand over his. He smiled at me softly, but I could tell he was hesitant. I was really messing around with him emotions really and I didn't mean too, but didn't he understand? I had a sister, I had a past and I had family now outside of him and Nic.

'Daddy, can we go and play with the trees?' Nic asked him. Michael continued to look at me for a long second before sighing.

'Yeah, come on then Nic,' Michael said softly, putting down his laptop on the side before walking around me, picking Nic up and sitting her on his hip as the girl hugged him tight. Michael frowned at me, before turning around.

 _Why are you pissed off?_ I asked him.

 _I'm not – Lucy's coming, though, and she's family now._ He said softly but also without any emotion, before cutting off.

I sat in the hangar confused, alone and cold for a minute or two, wondering what he meant. Was he annoyed because I found my family out? He was the one who done the test on me but the second the results were in, he was angry with me? No – he's known the results for a while. So he was angry that I had family?

He was upset I realised with a start.

He was upset that I " _finally had a family"_ but when I phrased it like that, I could understand why. It made it sound like he was nothing to me. It made it seem like with him in the picture, Nic wasn't family to me anymore. Of course, Nic and Michael were everything to me, but it hurt me to think that Michael just assumed that because Lucy was my sister, that he meant next to nothing any more. And he had tried so hard to make me feel like I was included in the family, and to make sure that I didn't suffer at all and I turned around and said I finally had someone to call a family. It did make it seem like I didn't include him. Doesn't he know how much I love him? How much I care about him. I love him to pieces.

'Are you okay?'

I jumped slightly before turning around. Lucy was beside me in a pair of skinny jeans and a loose flowing marl grey shirt. Tyler was happily asleep in her arms. In the background on the other side of the hangar, I could see Jason talking to one of the guys loading the plane about something.

'You know, don't you?' I asked her.

'Jason can't keep secrets, I've known since we were down on the beach,' Lucy said softly. She's known all this time and hadn't even shown any signs of knowing? Was she just unbothered by it? I got up; pulling down my shirt that had got caught on the back rest and Lucy hugged me. Admittedly, it was slightly awkward as she was holding Tyler. 'You're my big sister,' She whispered softly.

'I...' I attempted to speak but nothing came out as I teared up and my throat tightened. I had genetic family. I had a sister. Sure, now Lucy was my sister, it meant that I also had a father who was in Michael's word, the worst Savant and/or human to breathe and whom he had ever come across, and he was known for being an asshole and a potentially-twin-if-not-brother who was second place in for the "worst Savant/human to breathe" award but Lucy was walking proof that genetics mean nothing. My father kidnapped and murdered around thirty people that we know of in the last year, which included him trying to abduct his own grandson and I suppose his own granddaughter with Nic. He was sick and twisted and it made my gut drop knowing I was related to him. But Lucy was the nicest human I've ever met. She was so gentle and honest. It showed in the way she cared for Tyler, or the way she was around other people. Considering her gift is to make her go invisible, she never uses it. She never sneaks up on people, and if she makes someone jump she apologises for years to come. If you asked for someone the complete opposite of Luman Carnes, I would be picturing Lucy. The girl who had a home birth because she didn't want to waste the time of midwives in hospital.

I guess I had been bottling up emotions for a long time, as I just started to cry. I covered my face with my hands, turning my back towards Lucy.

'No, don't cry, Sam, please,' Lucy said, but I couldn't stop. 'I can't even hug you properly,' She said softly, putting her spare arm around my shoulders awkwardly. 'Is it Michael? Is he being a dick again?'

'He's being distant, I don't know what I've done wrong,' I muttered in tears and she rubbed my waist gently.

'I don't think it was you,' She whispered to me, 'Everyone has noted he's being weird since he's come back, even Ella has called him out on it.'

'What do you mean?' I asked her, and she frowned slightly.

'Well, he's been really weird. It's probably just stress but he thought he had it all, he had you and Nic, and then Nic was taken and he thought he was losing you too, and then when he got Nic back, he found out his two brothers he thought had died were alive, and then you're moving half the way across the world. He's also incredibly guilty thinking if he didn't try and help you and Nic, you would have been safer,'

Lucy explained it to me and it suddenly made a lot more sense. Michael was just scared for me – I was scared for him, but his fear was on a whole new level. His gift saw the dark side in people. His job saw the dark side in people too. He had watched his family get torn apart in front of him as easily as kids tear apart tissue paper on a Christmas present – and now everything seemed to be okay. He went from having everything, which I assumed included myself and Nic living with him, his sister happy, well and safe and his niece and nephew, to having his daughter go missing and watching me curl up into nothing, too scared around everyone and breaking down every ten seconds of the day, to finally having Nic back – but also finding out his two "dead" brothers weren't dead at all – and I was the daughter of the man he had been hunting down for years. And then, to add icing to the cake, I also cut him off by saying that I "finally had a family," when I found out about Lucy. I had been so selfish I never considered Michael's emotion in this whole event.

'Oh my God,' I muttered.

'What?' Lucy frowned at me.

'I've been an asshole to him,' I told her and Lucy shrugged.

'It's not been an easy event to find yourself in,' Lucy told me.

'I have to find Michael – where did he go?'

'He went out the front,' Lucy nodded to the aircraft hangar door which was open, leading onto a tarmac strip. The hangar was at the other end of the base – and I didn't even realise it had its own runway. "Runway" was a very illusive word, but it was a strip of road they often used for the driving tests but it doubled up nicely.

'Thanks, Lucy,' I told her, hugging her again.

'Anytime, Sis,' Lucy said to me, smiling slightly. I grinned at her, before pivoting on my heels running down the side of the hangar.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

I was more unfit than I would like to admit to others, but I got outside the hangar and had to stop to catch my breath back. However, I found where Michael was standing. He had gone across the tarmac strip and about a hundred meters from the edge, just on the linings of the woods that surrounded the base. I could see Nic happily sitting on the floor, her hands running through the blades of grass, and nature seemed to orientate her. Michael stood back from her, watching her with interest but there was something with the way he stood – like he was scared. No – like he was broken. His arms hung by his side, rather than crossed like he normally does, and there was something about the way he stood that showed how defeated he was.

Silently, I walked the distance until I was standing behind him and he hadn't noticed me, deep in his own thoughts. I put my hand on his arm and he jumped, turning around emotionless.

'Oh, I didn't hear you,' He said, before turning back to Nic.

'I'm sorry, Michael,' I said softly.

'Do we mean nothing to you?' He asked and it felt like I had been shot in the chest. Did he honestly believe what he said? But I knew he asked without thinking about it. It wasn't a dig, rather a probe.

'You two mean everything to me, Michael,' I told him and he nodded. 'I know what I said earlier was bad phrasing. You know how long I've wanted someone to call my family. You and Nic, you're more than family to me. You both are like... life support machines to me. Not the most romantic simile I get that, but I can't cope without either of you. I love you to bits, Michael, and I love Nic to pieces. I know you're not doing well about your brothers,' At even the mention of them I saw his jaw tense. 'I'm sorry, Michael, I've been a bitch recently,'

'You haven't,' He said.

'I have, and how you're saying I haven't I have no idea. I'm so sorry,'

'I haven't been the nicest person either,' He had, but I didn't want to argue with him. 'Can we just forget it, move to the mountains and just start new?' He asked me, looking down at me with his big eyes. I could lose myself in them if he let me.

'Can I just ask one thing, though?' I asked him gently. I leaned into his arm slightly, and he put his arm around my waist, holding me gently. We weren't so much as moulded together, but it made me feel included.

'Yeah?'

'You said you were scared, why?'

'I'm terrified of losing both of you,' Michael sighed and I frowned at him. 'You two are the best things to ever just happen to me. You two are everything to me. I was such a dark, twisted arsehole before I met you, Sam, ask anyone. I didn't realise how much I was slipping. And then you came along and I love you to bits, but the second you say something that sounds like you want to leave, or you don't love me, it terrifies me. I don't want you to leave, I love you, Sam, I love you so, so much. And Nic, too. I don't want to go back to being an asshole and I really don't want to go back to being incomplete. I understand if you want to leave, I haven't been the easiest person to deal with... but –'

'No,' I said and he looked down at me. 'I don't want to leave, Michael, this whole situation hasn't exactly been easy, but I love you. I don't want to lose you. I'm sorry if I haven't been easy to cope with either,' I whispered to him. 'Just forget it happened?'

'Just forget it happened,' Michael whispered to me, before he hugged me tighter, kissing me gently. And I felt home again. It wasn't as much as where we lived, or what address was under my name, but it was who I was with. I used to call Blakeley a home, but now Michael was my home. I never wanted to leave him alone. He was my boyfriend, and he was everything to me.


	39. Chapter 38 - Sam

**Chapter 38 – Sam**

Considering how many people were on the small private jet that was – somehow – on Maui's fleet, it was extremely comfortable. Previously used for commercial flights for the wealthy, the plane had been transformed into a place to transport those who were perhaps not very wealthy and find themselves in prostitutions where evacuation to another country would perhaps be safer for them. That was us right now. The plane was split into a few sections; two segregated areas with cream leather seats, screens built into the back of them, headphones attached. There were bathrooms in each section. The third section back had two bedrooms – yeah, bedrooms on a plane – and the fourth section was a large area which had straps from the ceiling to hold in any cargo. Thankfully, the majority of everyone's bags and suitcases fitted nicely in the holdall area in the belly of the plane, and that area had a scattering of toys to keep the kids interested in and fingers cross kept them all from sulking or being incredibly loud.

I sat down in one the rows of three on the left hand side of the plane on the aisle side, next to Michael. Nic sat by the window, buckled in, and looking out the window excitedly. We were still in the hangar, but the plane now had everyone on board. The majority of the Benedict's were in the front, including Mrs and Mr Benedict, five of their sons, their partners and their children. In the second half, we all sat. Ella, Joe and Lily all sat in the row opposite, with Charlie sitting on Joe's lap. Two rows back, Jason and Lucy sat, Lucy asleep on Jason's shoulder as Jason held a sleeping Tyler on his lap. He smiled at me softly when he saw me looking at him. A few rows back on our side of the plane, Sky sat with Zed, and behind them, Yves, Phee and Poppy sat happily too.

With Nic more than content looking out the window, Michael turned to me and held my hand gently.

 _How do you feel?_ He asked me gently. It was my first time flying, and to put it elegantly I was completely shitting myself.

 _Really quite bad._ I summed it for Michael.

 _It'll all be fine,_ He told me.

 _I've seen Air Crash Investigation; the actors on the plane always say that before the plane blows up in midair._ I told him and he laughed at me gently.

 _You're more likely to be killed in a car crash than you are a plane crash, Sam._ He told me but he hesitated, realising what he said was not good. He himself had been in a terrible car crash when he was a kid – his safety comparison wasn't holding water at the moment. But I wasn't an asshole enough to bring it up with him and he didn't want to discuss it either. He squeezed my hand. _I promise you, this will all be fine._

 _You can't promise what you don't know._

 _Oh, no, I do know. This will all be fine._ He told me with a grin on his face.

 _Hmm._ I replied back sceptically, knowing my fears were irrational and no one else on the plane was even the slightest bit worried about how the flight would go or if we would die in between places. The flight was long – I didn't know the exact time but it was long. And then, we would pick up our cars from a rental place in Veil. Michael had explained we were landing in a slightly shitter airport as it would cater for our needs of a runway without being massively exposed; Denver International Airport was a rather large airport and it wouldn't be overly useful for us lot to arrive there with no prior warning. Also, if Kingdom had any sense of anything, they would know the Benedict's would head back to their home country of America, and they would be watching. So we went for a slightly smaller airport in the town of Veil. From there, we would drive back to Wrickenridge where the house was already prepared for us to spend the night. I had lost track of what time it was now, but I knew when we landed, it would be around two in the afternoon and the time we would arrive at our new house should be dinner time. It might be a late night for myself and Michael, who had a lot of unpacking to do but I was confident Nic would just fall straight asleep.

 _How do you think Nic will be when flying?_ I asked Michael, looking over his arm to see Nic still watching out the window. But Michael never took his eyes off me. I looked at him and he smiled slightly.

 _She'll love it,_ He said to me softly bringing his hand up to gently stroke my hair.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. Welcome aboard the flight from Maui that isn't actually from Maui but a gloomy town called Guildford in England, to Colorado. This will be a long board flight with no flight changes. The weather at our destination looks mediocre at best, but with a few of you living in England I am sure you are used to this,' The pilot told us over the intercom and I grinned. A good sense of humour made this a lot easier.

'There will be food and drink served, however, no drinking if you are pregnant or underaged – I am specifically watching the three children in section two, who are aged four and five, you will be given Ribena, not wine, your parents won't appreciate me if I give you wine,' I looked over at Nic who was grinning, looking up at the roof of the plane trying to find where the man was speaking from. Michael laughed slightly.

'If you have any questions or request, you will find me at the controls. If you can't find me at the controls, we will have a bigger question than your proposed question. I am also fully up to date with random trivia if you aisle buddies are boring, we will be leaving in five or so minutes. Adios,' The pilot hung up the intercom.

'Is he actually a pilot?' I asked and Michael grinned at me.

'Yeah, he's got about 40,000 hours of flying experience. He was hired from British Airways to come and be our pilot as he is a Savant and wanted some more low key hours for family commitments. He's a lovely guy, very good with nerves.' Michael told me. The engines on the plane had started up, and Nic looked back out the window. She was grinning like a kid. My heart sunk. She was a kid. She had grown up too much in the last few weeks. She was no longer that kid who couldn't do up laces, who begged to be woken up at stupid times in the morning to go play with the clouds. She was mature for her age. And it only happened because of this whole thing.

'Mummy, Daddy, look!' Nic exclaimed as the plane started to roll forward. We were exiting the hangar to be taxi'd onto the runway. Michael had explained it to me that we would do a full lap of the runway, and then run back down to behind the hangar and around once more for the pilot to get used to the runway, and then we would be off.

'Yeah, Nic,' Michael said softly. He looked out the window at she was pointing at, but he just looked at her with such love and dedication that I turned into a puddle.

'Mummy, look, look at the moving buildings!'

'That's incredible Nic,'

'Ponder number uno of this flight – do airplanes have handbrakes?' The pilot told us and I laughed. This would be an interesting flight. 'We have some delightful sucky sweets that are meant to help with the popping of the ears, but I don't find they help. However, sweets will cheer up even the most miserable people on this flight!'

Nic continued to watch out the window with eagerness and Michael turned back to me.

'Please say you have a plan waiting?' I asked him and he nodded.

'Ella has a plan, and she hasn't told me all of it but if it works, it is more than viable. She needs to run it past Vick. He helped her with parts of it, but it needs to be finalised. We're up against some bad people.' Michael said before realising what he said and looked up at me in slight panic. I squeezed his hand.

'They're not my family; don't worry about offending me,' I told him. He leaned forward and kissed me.

'And – and the boys?' I asked and he frowned. 'Your – brothers? Are they bad guys?'

Michael sighed slightly, frowning at the lights in the ceiling of the plane as he tried to figure out whatever he was thinking about. We were both going very similar things under different circumstances. I found out that I had a younger sister, and a twin brother. Well, my younger sister – Lucy – was the only person I would class as family. My so called "twin" brother, and my father, who both run Kingdom are dead to me. Michael had found out his two older brothers who had thought to be dead for twenty odd years were actually alive. That was enough to fuck over anyone. You could tell he wasn't coping overly well with the information but how could you? Both Chris and Cameron were sitting in section four, and they were allowed to move up to our section when the flight was in space but everything passed with them. They gave their statements – they were being interviewed all through the night and neither of them had slept since whenever they were in Kingdom – they have compelling evidence and through yet another DNA test, it confirmed they were who they said they were. Karla and Saul welcomed them with open arms and let them stay with them for however long they wanted until this case blew over and their protection scheme was set up. Until then, they were pretty much floaters. They seemed more than willing to try and get on well with everyone, but they barely had time to speak to any of us.

'No,' Michael said conclusively. 'I don't believe they are bad guys, they never thought of themselves as bad guys either,'

'Right,' I said and he sighed. He didn't believe me, or the tone I used. In all fairness, I was struggling to see how someone could work at the same place for two decades and still not be _somehow_ intertwined, or believing, what they were doing. It had to be drilled into them. Once again, the shadow that proves this wrong or at least makes me stop and think was Lucy. She was born into that society but the entire time she knew right from wrong - when perhaps she didn't even know what right was. She had the cognitive ability to be able to process that not everyone was in the Kingdom she knew and there was something greater outside. I did wonder how she managed to know, as if you were born into a society that makes you think a certain way, you wouldn't know any other way. It added up that someone inside Kingdom had been telling her about what was happening _outside_ of Kingdom. And she knew she would never go back even if it was her only chance to survive. Why would someone do that? I had an extremely lucky escape when I was dumped at Blakeley even though the reason why was very much unapparent. My only guess was something to do with misogyny and my twin brother would be greater than me, thus I had to go.

But Tobias decided to join Kingdom - or so everyone was saying. Why? It didn't make any sense! He didn't have a bone of evil in him, and suddenly the second I meet Michael he throws everything out the window, gets pissy with me and my family, before joining the biggest affiliated terrorist cell for Savants? Even that didn't make sense! I was no criminologist, but that doesn't make any sense. He had no reason to go join Kingdom. Unless Michael was the reason. I looked over at Michael and he frowned at me slightly. What was he saying?

'It makes sense, though, you haven't read their statements?'

'No, it's not like I have it printed off, is it?' I told him back and he smiled, leaning forward and pulling out a black folder from the pouch in the chair in front. He pulled out two loose leaf documents that had been stapled together, each were around thirty pages thick. 'Oh, well, it appears I do have them printed off, then,' I said and Michael grinned.

'Want me to explain it before we start flying?'

'Yeah,' I sighed, knowing I had to care and there was a reason he wanted to explain it, but I already had a lingering migraine from the amount of stuff that had happened the last few days and I was close to breaking down for what felt like the eight time - or sleeping for several weeks. Perhaps I could sleep until this was all over? That would be divine.

'Well, what it seems like is they had no idea anything would happen. The car crash happened, and both of them were taken away via ambulance. Chris remembers slightly more than Cameron and Cameron was seven or so when it happened. Chris recalls waking up in a dark hospital ward. Doctor's were rudimental at the very best. Chris had a fractured spine, but there were healers on sight at all times. They rotated the healing between them and three months later, Chris seemed good. Cameron recalls having an operation on his leg – and when we put him in for a x-ray it showed metal plates in his leg – and it appeared to be the same facility. When they were well, they were visited by someone who forced them to remove any memories of our family. It never really worked, though, Cameron remembered everything by using his gift of persuasion to stop the man from removing his memories and tell a lie saying he had done the job. He also worked the same trick on Chris, but he had already leeched onto Chris and he can't remember his early childhood years. They were kids and they were told they had a home in a refugee place for Savant kids. They both got told how bad people were with the gifts, abusing the gifts given to them from the Gods and clamping down on those who wanted to be free to "worship the Gods" and so on. But it never really affected them. They pretended to be soldiers, but they knew what had happened to their family. As kids, they couldn't do much, though, so they grew up living a double life. Cameron got on very well with Lucy, who was a maid there. He used to care for her, clean up her wounds from the abuse and be her shoulder to cry on. Cameron helped get Lucy out of there, persuading people to not look as she left her room. He was never caught but if he was he would have died. Chris has always been the one looking out for Ella and I, even though he never met us. We are his kid siblings, though, so the terrorist plan that Ella and Joe were caught up in which was organised by Kingdom, Chris had been sending conflicting signals. Chris was incredibly high up in the ranks. He kept Ella and Joe safe. Fast forward until now, Cameron got the two kids in his care and immediately realised who it was – he had been getting information on Ella and the kids – his niece and nephew and Nic too – and that was the final straw. Chris and he worked together on getting the girls out. However, neither of them knows a life outside of Kingdom. But they never wanted to be a part of it to start with,' Michael explained softly to me, gently stroking my upper arm.

'They were never...' I wasn't too sure how to finish that sentence. Never part of the plan to kidnap to the girls? Never evil? Michael frowned, clearly having tapped into my thoughts.

'I don't think they were, no,' Michael told me. 'They want to help us, and they done that by getting them out of there, risking their lives to get them out,'

'Right,' I sighed, finding it very hard to comprehend. This entire situation was miles away from fathomable.

'Look, Look! We're about to fly!' Nic said, tapping Michael's arm as she continued to watch out the window excitedly. He held my hand, rubbing his thumb over my hand to try and calm down my quickening pulse. I suddenly felt floaty good and frowned, turning around to look at Jason. He gestured for me to take deep breaths to calm myself down. I smiled at him softly, mouthing "thank you," to him before turning around. I looked back out the window of the plane. We were back on the main strip on the runway, and the speed of the plane was picking up. I held Michael's had to the point of his circulation was most likely cutting off as I started breathing deeply despite what Jason was doing to reduce my pulse and calm my anxiety. However, the take off went incredibly smoothly, and before I knew it we were in the air.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

It was about three hours into the flight and everyone had started to move around. Lily and Poppy were playing in section four together, whilst Nic watched Disney films happily curled up into Michael's chest, hugging him. Jason, Lucy and Tyler were all asleep in the back of section three. Joe had gone up the front to speak with Victor about the plans. I walked over to Ella, who was on her laptop, her headphones in and glasses on, typing in a quick-fire way. She must have caught the movement of me from the corner of her eye as she immediately stopped typing, pulled out her headphones and paused the music.

'How are you doing?' She asked me gently, closing the lid. They were all very secretive about this plan which I had no idea about. She gestured to the seat next to her and I slid in tentatively.

'I'm... okay?' I asked with a questionable tone and she frowned.

'You're not, are you?' She shot back immediately. She either knew me, or people in general, too well.

'I'm just so confused, and tired, and I'm not entirely too sure what to feel,' I sighed as I sunk into the chair.

'That's completely normal, you had the same routine for years and then all of this happened within two months, was it? It's okay to feel out of your depth.' Ella told me.

'How long will we be in Colorado?' I asked her and she hesitated. It looked like she didn't know the answer.

'A few weeks, perhaps,' Ella said. 'The plan we have might take two or three weeks to set up, but it all depends on a lot of thing, and this will continue to tick perfectly unless there is another addition that we would have to settle. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Focus on Nic and Michael,' Ella said gently. I looked over at them both. Nic had wanted to sit on Michael's lap – for support I could assume – and both of them had started to watch Disney films – Hercules. They had headphones in both of them and they were both absorbed into the film, with Michael hugging Nic and Nic with one arm around Michael's neck and the other latched onto her toy bunny.

'He makes it look like he isn't struggling, and I know you two have gone through this a thousand times already, but neither of you can't do this without one another, and whilst you two drive each other insane sometimes, you two need to work it out, and you two will have to keep talking about this. I know it's never like this in films or books or anything, but this is something completely different. Fears are innate, and without them you cannot function as a human. Anxiety is normal too in moderation. Look at rabbits. Rabbits who don't have a fear of foxes, the thing that kills them the most, will die from anxiety-related illnesses. I don't know where I was going with that point... ' She frowned at her laptop, wondering what she was on about with the foxes.

'We spoke earlier,' I told Ella and she raised an eyebrow at me. 'We know how we treated each other wasn't right. We're starting again.'

'Good,' Ella said nodding. 'It does take time to adapt to the whole Soulfinder thing, and some takes longer than others. I couldn't stand the thought of Joe for five or so months after we met, I lived in Colorado at that time so I flew back and even when he text me, I didn't text back. I didn't reply to his calls. Anyone who mentioned him in conversations, I would walk out on them. And that was whilst I was pregnant with Lily,' She explained, looking at me sideways. 'I didn't know about her, though, if I did it would have been different most likely, but I didn't want anything to do with him.' Ella explained to me. 'That would have gone on for perhaps another few months if the whole terrorist thing didn't happen. That was what drove us together.'

'So this whole situation might pull me and Michael together?' I asked, partially sceptical.

'You two were already okay with each other, and this will make you two stronger, I mean you will get irritated at him and he is a dickhead, but he loves you to pieces and he never shuts up about you, and you love him too, and you both love Nic to pieces, but you three need each other more than ever now,'

'I know,' I said, sighing at Michael longingly. He still was a bit weird around me after finding that notebook.

'I had a dream,' I went to explain to Ella ad she frowned at me, 'And I've for years kept a dream journal and all the dreams I had came true but I still don't know what it means so I hid it from everyone, and Michael found it when he was clearing out our room, and a few weeks ago I had a dream that I was pregnant and I think he's panicking.'

'Right,' Ella dragged out the word. This was completely new information to her even though she was with Michael clearing out Nic's room for me as I slept. 'Er, tell him to man up I guess. You don't know if it'll come true, or when it would happen, and so on.'

'I know,' I whispered back.

'You alright there, Sam?'

I turned around in the chair to see Joe standing beside me, with Charlie happily awake on his hip, his hands playing with the neck hem of Joe's shirt pulling it out of shape but Joe barely noticed. I quickly got up from the chair and shuffled to one side to give him his chair back but he just frowned at me.

'Sorry,'

'It's okay, Sam, I was just going to check on Lily,' Joe said in a very soothing tone. His father tone.

'It's fine, I'll just –' I gestured over to Michael, who had started to watch me keenly as he saw me jump up. I edged away from Ella and Joe and into the chair next to Michael. He frowned at me.

 _You okay?_ He asked me softly and I shrugged, shrouding a yawn with the back of my hand. _Tired?_

 _Yeah,_ I said. I was partially tired. Well, I think everything wasn't making sense no more because I was so tired. I had long ago gone past the point of being tired into the realm of I-don't-need-sleep, but the second I started to relax, the urge to sleep was there, ever present. Michael smiled softly, gesturing to the seat by the window.

 _Sit there and try and sleep sweetheart, I'll wake you up if anything interesting happens._

I awkwardly shuffled past Michael, with Nic on his lap absorbed in Hercules completely, and slumped down in her chair. I immediately did the seat belt up and leaned on Michael's shoulder. He adjusted how Nic was sitting on him, so one arm was around her and one arm went around my shoulders. He then telekinetically put a blanket over the three of us, before kissing my forehead.

 _I love you._ He told me softly.

 _I love you too._

And in that moment I knew no matter how bad this situation gets, or how long it'll take to fix, and no matter how much we argue and bicker with each other, we would work it out.

But then, the dream hit me like a tonne of rocks and I knew that we wouldn't have time to work it out.

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **Sorry, this is the exact same chapter I put up last night however, I put up the un-updated version of this and it hit me about three o'clock this morning and I was too tired to sort it then. It wouldn't let me replace the chapter somehow, so I had to remove the chapter and try again (sorry for anyone who received two notifications!) however this version does have about four hundred more words added in and I fixed a few spelling typos.**

 **Once again, sorry for not being able to update as frequently as I once did - I'm in my third week of uni doing a combined honours (so two courses in one) and it's fast tracked so it's two years instead of three so you can imagine the amount of extra work I get. The only time I give myself to write, proof read (even though I do have some help) update, replying to private messages (which I really do love, I love talking to people - if you wanna talk message me I am completely chill with that just be aware my replies are somewhat tardy) reply to reviews (even though I do try, I don't try hard enough and/or forget. I'm sorry again,) and uploading and so on is about twenty minutes every evening, which if you do write you know is not long at all. I am trying to power through as much as I can, and I am on Chapter 45 I believe at the moment and it's all starting to kick off again so we're looking at about a total of 53 chapters perhaps, but I'm getting there!**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed in the last chapter, it really does make my day and at least four of them made me cry in my car driving home from university because they are so sweet. It honestly means so much, and I know I say that a lot, but every time I get a review it makes me so happy and excited because it's impacting other people. So thank you, and please continue to review as it does give me that kick up the arse to write rather than laying on the floor in an existential crisis or learning about the different parts of the brain.** **Also, the rabbit thing about anxiety? That's completely true. I learnt that in my three weeks.**

 **Anyway thank you so much!**


	40. Chapter 39 - Michael

**Chapter 39 – Michael**

Overall, the flight went a lot smoother than we had all anticipated. None of the kid kicked off and started to cry, and Nic didn't appear to be scared of flying at all and was more than content on the flight. We had watched two Disney movies on the flight before we got the news we were changing airports, heading now for Aspen rather than Veil, which was an hour and a bit drive away from Wrickenridge but it wouldn't be too worse for wear. The flight attendant had pulled me and Ella aside to tell us the news, and when Ella questioned why, he suggested that changing the airport in the air would be a good decision as it meant less time to create a situation on the ground if interested parties wanted to ambush us. Sam had woken up from her sleep when I got up to talk to the air hostess, and she just seemed a bit confused. She had no idea where Colorado was on a map, let alone the towns with airports or where Wrickenridge even was.

The Benedict's had grown up in Wrickenridge because it was so isolated, away from anyone else. And as part of the Witness Protection scheme, which has now furthered to the Savant Protection scheme, it meant they could remain anonymous and any Savant gifts would be hidden. And the small town allowed that. And now, we would stay there for the next few weeks until Ella and Vick iron out whatever plan they have made and wouldn't tell us.

The plane had touched down around six minutes ago and had taxi'd off the runway to one of the other terminals which was used for private planes. A gentleman had come aboard to take the visa paperwork which Maui had made for us, and then our passports and done the checks on board for us, as members of staff removed the luggage from the hull of the plane into a smaller building used for private aircraft passengers. Most of the time, they deal with celebrities and their entourage, who needed to be hushed away with little to no attention. They were used to this, and they were most likely extremely disappointed that it was a plane of normal people.

Nic was sitting in her chair, still colouring away at her book intently whilst I looked over at Sam, who was somewhere between awake and asleep. She was squinting at me cutely.

'You awake yet?' I asked her gently and she nodded, curled up in the chair.

'Who wants to drive?' Sam asked me and I frowned. She had started taking driving lessons and had passed her theory test but she didn't have a license yet. She also was changing subjects quickly. Did she seem... uneasy around me now? I gently played with her hair. She hadn't had much sleep, and she was one of those people who need a solid eight to ten hours of sleep so she wouldn't get crabby. She had gone past the point of being snappy into sheer exhaustion, to just about coping. I was glad sleep was catching up with her – hopefully she would be a bit happier. Full of life that she once was.

'I'll drive,' I told her gently and she nodded.

'If you insist,' She muttered. I watched as the attendant came back onto the plane, and gestured for Section One to be shown off. One by one, the Benedict's all strolled off the aircraft, carrying their hand luggage. Our section of the plane followed. Ella stood in the aisle for a second, and we made eye contact. I frowned at her slightly and she returned the frown, looking very briefly to Sam. I shrugged slightly and indicated to Nic. Ella nodded.

'Nic, do you want to follow Aunty Ella?' I asked her gently and she nodded, taking her carry on Disney Princess bag with her, leaving a few things scattered around but I noted where all of them were to tidy up later. I watched as she held Ella's hand as they walked out the plane, with Lily holding onto the other hand, Joe occupied with trying to calm down a tired and grizzly baby who wasn't a fan of the landing.

'Why?' I turned around to see Sam staring at me intently. I wanted to ask her so many questions about everything. It had come around to me that I barely knew Sam before she met me. I didn't know how she grew up, what subjects she took. Hell, I don't even know what her PhD was in either. She was incredibly smart but I didn't know her past. It's like I only knew who she was pretending to be and that upset me. I wanted to know her inside out, back to front but she refused to tell me about her past.

She refused to tell me about now, too. She was barely coping and she wouldn't talk to me. Even now, she wouldn't talk to me about certain things. I trusted her entirely but it was like she didn't trust me.

But I also got the message from Vick that Tobias' leads didn't come up at all. Tobias had gone missing and disappeared off the face of the Earth. After we spotted him at the nearby train station, we followed up the CCTV on the platforms of every stop and he had never got off the train. Which is odd. They were investigating it further but Maui has bigger fish to fry rather than looking for Chicken Pie in the country side.

I felt sorry for Sam. I really do. It can't have been easy for her. She grew up without a family that much I knew, and whoever her care givers were they weren't always there for her. She grew up lonely, she grew up hating herself. I knew how that felt, but she used to starve herself to the point of being critically ill and hospitalised. The only true friend she had was Tobias, and he left her to go to university. When he returned, he tried to get with her but my Sam was too busy in work to even consider anything. And then Nic showed up. My daughter was handed to her to look after and she did it perfectly. She was so strong for Nic when perhaps inside she wasn't so.

And I came into the picture, causing havoc. I scared her; she was terrified I would take Nic from her. But when the whole kidnapping of the school children worsened and we ordered and evacuation of the target age group, sent them to Frimley. Her and Nic moved in and it all seemed good. And then Nic was taken, she didn't trust anyone, and when I advised her to ask Tobias to help us – or rather help her by having a friend around – he was a knob and disappeared.

'I love you,' I whispered to her and she frowned at me. I didn't know why I wanted to speak to her alone but my words wouldn't form. I just had to tell her the truth.

'I don't get it,' She frowned.

'Don't get what?' I asked her back.

'Why you told Nic to get off the plane with Ella – you wanted to speak to me, but... I don't get it. Here you are not saying anything,'

'I'm just scared,' I whispered to her.

'You said you have a plan for this whole thing,' Sam added.

'Not the case, I'm scared you're not coping. I'm scared that you're not doing okay mentally, or you hiding stuff,' I told her.

'I told you, new slate,' She muttered.

'No, you're hiding something,' I said as I realised there was something else she was holding back. It took me by surprise – the dark hint in her eyes suggested that. The way she looked at me like I was shining a torch in her eyes, like she was a terrified lost girl. 'What is it, Sam?' I asked her softly. She looked down at the floor.

'I can't...' She muttered.

'What do you mean?'

'I can't do this anymore,' She said. She looked towards the over head lighting that she hoped would give her some hope and maybe a helping hand but it did nothing.

'It won't be long before we can go home and be normal again,' I tried to reassure her, squeezing her hand before she pulled it away.

'No,' She said.

'No?' I asked my pulse quickening. 'Sam, you're scaring me,'

'A mighty bear isn't scared of the dark woodland in winter,' Sam muttered and I frowned.

'Perhaps, but rather scared of the creatures that lurk within,' I added and she sighed. 'What is it Sam?'

'I had another dream,' She said, 'And it's not a good one,'

'What happened?'

'I don't want to tell you,'

'Sam...' I sighed.

'I don't want to tell you! If I don't say it, it won't happen!' She slammed her fist down on the seat's hand rest, before looking at it and breaking down curling up small. 'It can't happen,' She whispered feebly and I looked around for help but the plane was empty.

'It might not happen,' I tried to tell her and she laughed hollowly. All I wanted to do was give her the necklace I picked up from our house. I had bought it three days before Nic's kidnapping leaving it aside for a good time. I had only come across it when clearing through our drawers and decided to give it to her now like it was symbolic.

'It will happen Michael, we have discussed this already,' She said.

'What is so bad that you can't tell me?' I whispered to her and she looked at me dead in the eye and I knew it was something horrific. She just leaned into me and started sobbing. I wrapped my arms around her, realising trying to dig deep into her to get her to tell me what she was hiding from me was futile. She was so tired and she was so close to breaking. She was cracking, but any heavier and she would break. She needed rest, and love, but more than anything a good sleep a place that she would feel safe. I decided I wouldn't try and get to her to open up any more, it was getting to her too much, and just let her sob against my chest for an unimaginable amount of time. I realised I was probably holding everyone up enjoying having Sam curl up into me now she had finished crying.

'Sam, I bought you this a few days before Nic was taken,' I started to explain, leaning down into my backpack to find the small box, in a Tiffany and Co's bag. I handed her the bag as Sam frowned, reading the designer bag and her eyes opened. She gently undid the bow on the bag, pulling out the padded box and opening the box. I had gone simple but classy, not knowing much about jewellery to make a comment. The pendant was a bird-cage shape, and inside was a silver dove, with a thin row of silver gems around the doves head. I had assumed from the price tag it was of proper materials. The thing that made Sam fall in love with it when she was looking online was the patterning on the bird – it was engraved with woodland-like patterns of trees and so on. The entire thing was quite small no bigger than a 50p coin, but it was impossible to notice the details. On the chain as well was a very small key, which sat in the bird cage which I assumed would be the key for the cage if the entire event was real. Sam admired it.

'Holy shit,' She whispered and I laughed slightly. 'It's... it's beautiful,' She whispered to me.

'It's all yours too,' I added and she looked shocked.

'Why? There was no need,' She told me.

'No you're the need. You know how much you mean to me, and I know this entire situation is far from easy but I honestly believe we can make it through this. It make take time, yeah, but we can do this. I believe in us. We can do this okay Sam, no matter what your dream was. We can do this,' I took her hand and she looked sadly at me but nodded.

'We can do this,' She whispered drily but there was hesitation in her voice. She wasn't sure.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

An hour or so later, we were cleared from the airport with our paperwork back and without any extra questions (even though Ella had set off the metal detector from the metal implants in her arm where they bolted the bone back together after the whole Cornwall-running-for-their-lives-and-got-injured-terribly-in-the-process ordeal. Cars waited for us in a line; there were three taxi's for the Benedict's – all of which were staying at their family home tonight until they wanted to head homes – and then three cars. One was for myself, Sam and Nic, the other one for Ella, Joe, Lily and Charlie and the third for Jason, Lucy, Chris and Cameron, as well as Tyler. Jason seemed more than happy to let Chris and Cameron stay with him and Lucy, and both of the boys offered to help with Tyler and they apparently looked after Tyler very well on the plane. I had to remind myself the "boys" were my older brothers and it threw me off.

'Shotgun the black car!' Ella said as we headed to our cars – all three were parked neatly beside each other on the private exit at Aspen airport. I had to stop and take a moment to realise how beautiful Colorado was – I had almost forgot how stunning the place was. From where we were, we could see thin sprawl trees that had lost the majority of the leaves that frame the roads leading to the airport and away from it, and in the background the very faint shadows of mountains that loom into the sky, trying to reach the clouds but not quiet reaching on the clear day. However, it was freezing. It was a few days into November, and in a mountain state, it was bloody freezing. My breath made small clouds in front of me, and I hugged my jacket tighter around me wishing to think about sensible clothing. I picked up Nic before we left the airport building and now she was looking around in amazement, before frowning as she noticed her breathe. Nic would absolutely shit herself with excitement when it began to snow. She would be in the mountains in a ski town soon – she would be able to control snow without anyone noticing.

I was amazed there was no snow at the moment, though, although it looked like there was some a few days ago. The airport had been routinely cleared of snow for the aircraft and the ease of passengers, but I could still see the icy residue of a heavy snow shower lingering in the shallows of bushes.

The black car Ella was referring too was in the middle of the three cars; a black new style Vauxhall Corsa, a car she was very used too. It also had a baby seat in the back for Charlie. Next to it was a blue sleek car – I couldn't quite tell which model it was but it looked nice – but it had a car seat in the back as well so I could only assume it was for Lucy and Jason then. Which would make the silver car mine. It was a new style Corsa too, but was two years older than the one Ella had called dibs on.

'I can deal,' Jason said opening the popper wallet they had given him when they arrived, which contained the car keys. He took out the key with blue nail polish on and handed it to Lucy for safe keeping, before chucking the silver key at me, and the plain key at Ella. We had all gained a folder that contained paperwork and so on, and I had yet to look through mine, but I could tell it was all about the house and so on. And our fake identities too.

'I'll go first, then,' Ella said and I smiled at her, hugging her with one arm slightly. We had to leave with five minutes between each car at east and the Benedict's had already left ages ago. We were loitering around signing paperwork and getting the keys to our new house, and our new bank cards under the false identities the FBI had given us. I resisted asking why the FBI was dealing with this case, rather than Maui. It was extremely odd that Maui would just hand a case like this over. I could only assume that now, because two of the three assistant managers were heavily involved in this case, it would leave only Jake and Susan to call all the shots now. And Jake was willing to move over here with us so if needed, we would all be here. We had to convince him to stay at home with his kids, and Leanna, his wife, would not allow him to leave her with four children. So with only two of them, I doubt they would be able to handle a case this big with people so far away, so they shrugged it off to the Savant unit in the FBI, who were now in charge.

'Bye,' Joe said and Ella laughed slightly.

'We'll be seeing them in like, an hour,' Ella joked, passing over Charlie to Joe before guiding Lily into the passenger seats at the back of the car. We watched as Ella managed to put Lily's seatbelt on as she sat in her booster chair, and Joe wriggle in a tired Charlie into his car seat, before both of them climbed in the front, Ella as nominated driver. A few seconds later, the engine started, and they reversed out the bay, before slowly driving off tooting the horn at us as she joined the main road, the route to our new home and Ella's childhood town already memorised.

'Where are Chris and Cameron?' I asked Jason and he rolled his shoulders at me.

'They're your brothers,' He added and I hesitated. 'You're not being an asshole to them because they're alive, are you?'

'Well –'

'Well, nothing. That's an asshole thing to do to start with,' Jason said and I frowned at him, before looking at the girls. Lucy, who held Tyler, was talking to Sam. I put down Nic on the floor and she ran over to Sam, hugging her leg. 'Have you read their statement yet?'

'Some,' I said, not wanting to admit I read it all.

'Well, I'll give you too-long-didn't-read edition. They were taken from the crash site by fake paramedics, knocked out on sleeping gas, came around in Kingdom and were fixed by Savant medics like myself. They were forced to forget you – well, they tried to force them to forget you but it didn't work with Cameron at all and partially with Chris. And they did everything they could to try and get to you. Chris, when he turned eighteen which was when you turned – let's do the maths –ten I believe? – was added onto surveillance of you and Ella. Which was bitter? He had to pretend not to know you but he did everything he could to keep you and your sister safe. But not only that, Cameron and Chris risked their lives to get your daughter out of Kingdom safely before they were moved. Cameron treated Nic's injuries, and won both of their trusts. We all know getting Lily to trust someone is tricky enough but Nic too? They don't know what the real world is, and here you are still being a dick to them because –let me guess – it doesn't seem real to you?' Jason lectured me. I stared at him. 'Yeah, I thought that would be the reason. You four need a good sit down and a heart to heart, because you are acting irrational, Ella is being odd and the two boys need you to be nice to the more than ever,' Jason said. 'And right on time, here they come now,'

I turned around to see Chris and Cameron walking out of the building, both with lever arch files full of paperwork too. Both of them had the stature and the gait of Soldiers, who had been born and bred for battle, but there was an air of naivety around them. They had grown up in isolation, and like Jason said they didn't know how the World worked. Cameron smiled at me as they got closer.

'Everything okay?' I asked them.

'Yeah, we got our paperwork sorted all nicely,' Cameron said gesturing to the file.

'Good.' I said, before sighing. Conversation dead. 'Guess I'll leave next,'

'You're an asshole,' Jason sighed at me and it seemed to him like his rant fell on deaf ears.

'No, later,' I said and he nodded mockingly.

'Right, of course,'

I pivoted on my heels, walking over to Sam and Nic. Lucy paused what she was saying as I got closer looking slightly hesitant.

'Er, you okay?' I asked her and she nodded, her colour drained from her face. Right – that was weird. 'Okay... Sam, you ready to go now?' I asked her and she nodded, without saying anything she walked to the Silver car. Nic stood slightly awkward and I offered her my hand walking her to the car, picking her up and sliding her in the car seat before I shimmied on into the drivers' seat.

'You've been really weird since your nap on the plane,' I sighed turning the engine on and she nodded.

'I had another one of my dreams, I told you that, you know I told you that,' She said softly even though she told me she had whilst we were on the plane. But I assumed I could try and get her to speak if I pretended she didn't.

'You didn't tell me what about?' I replied back.

She sighed. 'I'll tell you when we're home,' She said before sighing again even more dramatically. 'Home...'

'Let's go home, then,' I started the engine, reversing out the bay and joining the highway, like Ella did minutes previous.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

We had barely got onto the interstate heading towards Wrickenridge, but by the time I looked over at Sam, she was already asleep in the passenger seat. Her head was curled against the window, lips slightly parted, and her legs to her chest as she slept. I checked Nic in the rear view mirror. Nic was staring at me, holding her bunny to her chest.

'You alright there, pumpkin?' I asked her and she nodded.

'Where are we going?' She asked softly. Unlike Sam, Nic didn't seem too phased by the long plane journey or the strange location.

'Our new home for a while,' I said to her softly. 'It's in the mountains,'

'Does that mean there's snow?' She asked excitedly.

'Hopefully, yeah,'

In all honesty, I wasn't entirely sure what I was heading for. It had been years since I visited the town in which Ella grew up, or where my extended family lived. The last time I had visited was over ten years ago and no doubt the town must have changed. The second Ella was old enough to fly alone, rather than me flying out to Colorado she would visit England instead and it worked fine – she used to stay with me, she was free to do whatever she wanted and she would work at Maui where I could keep an eye on her to make sure no man was hitting on her. She would help around the house, and I would occasionally spike her food with sleeping tablets and all would be sound. It just meant I hadn't been to Colorado in years.

The rest of the journey was done in relative silence – Sam was deep asleep, and Nic was in the back watching "Beauty and the Beast" on my iPad with headphones in whilst I followed the Sat Nav's directions to the town. At some point, I must have been speeding as I managed to catch up with Ella's car in front. Like we normally do, I flashed my headlights at her and she replied back by turning on her hazard lights.

After who knows how long on the main roads, we pulled off onto a smaller road which had no traffic on. In the twenty minutes we were driving down it, only one car drove past very slowly which was no doubt an early tourist who was lost. I was informed that it was tourist season coming up and the town would get busier, but it wouldn't be an issue to our safety. As we inclined up the road, there was more and more snow making itself evident – whilst the road was clear the bushes either side had a foot or two of fresh powder.

We passed the wooden sign welcoming us to the town and I unplugged the SatNav, knowing my house was next to Ella's and I could follow her from here on in. She drove through the middle of the town at a reduced speed, before heading down some smaller roads and junctions, into some streets, and three turning later she pulled to a stop, bumping her car up onto the pavement. The three houses that were next to each other were identical; both had "SOLD STC" signs on the front but the houses themselves looked incredible. White clapboard walls with dark wooden beams which emphasised the age of the house, with a veranda around the front. I pulled into the driveway of the second one, hoping it would be ours. I would assume it would.

I turned the engine off before getting out the car, silently walking around the rear passenger side to undo Nic from her car seat before picking her up gently. She was a lot lighter than she was before the kidnapping. Despite her being four and a half, she was more than content being picked up and carried around and I guess I just wanted to baby her. It still really messes with my head that she is my daughter, and I had created her. Created – is that the right word? I don't care, but she is my daughter and I had only know her for just over a month, perhaps two, and I regret not being there for her since the second she was born. But even so, she is still my baby daughter. But Nic wrapped her arms around my neck happily, leaning against me. Her energy levels must have crashed in the car as now she was half asleep. It had been a relatively stressful week for all three of us and we were now overcoming the side effects from the stress.

I looked over at the house to the left, where Ella had unbuckled Lily and now she was staring at the mountains in the distance, and Joe was busy bent over in the other passenger side dealing with Charlie.

'I'll text you when we're all done,' Ella called over to me and I nodded. Turns out whilst we were "dibbing" cars, they were already set for us and Ella got her black Corsa like she wanted. The airport staff had packed our suitcase and holdalls of items into the boot for us. In total, we had the three Nike bags we had packed down and the carryon items, and Maui staff had also packed down some personal belongings into three suitcases, which were colour coordinated towards the cars. Very organised of them, I noted.

'Cool,' I replied back to Ella before heading towards the front door.

'Daddy?' Nic whispered to me.

'Yeah, sweetheart?'

'Are you leaving Mummy in the car?'

'I'll come back for her in a second, love, don't worry. She'll be safe.' I said, resting Nic entirely onto one hip so I could put the key into the door. A twist later and it opened, revealing a cream-coloured hallway with neat linoleum flooring which looked like it was new. I appreciated the effort that had gone into the house and it appeared to be all freshly painted and decorated inside. I put Nic down on the welcome mat in the front door. 'Stay there for a second,' I told her softly before jogging back to the car.

Slowly, not to wake Sam, I opened up the door to the passenger side, catching Sam as she had been leaning on the door. I unclicked her seatbelt, bent over to gently pick her up before kicking the car door closed. Nic was watching me intently from the front door step, swaying slightly in the summer dress she wore on the flight over here – something the hospital had provided her. She must have been cold – there was about half a foot of snow on the front garden – but she didn't say anything about it. I walked into the house, closing the door skilfully behind me.

'Welcome home, sweetheart,' I whispered to Nic but also to Sam, who was deep asleep. I had to make sure she was still alive and saw her chest moving up and down and that was the only indications of life. Nic stood in the doorway with me, hesitating slightly. 'Do you want to pick your room, then?' I asked her.

She nodded, before running up the stairs. I walked behind her gently carrying Sam before we got to the top. Nic hesitated slightly before running into the rooms, opening the door for the bathroom, the airing cupboard, before the three bedrooms. She opened one to the Master bedroom before wrinkling her nose at how "adult" it is – and by that I mean cream wallpaper with a New York focus wall, a King-sized bed in the middle as well as copper-themed mirrors on a dressing table, two wardrobes and a wooly rug, but had a spectacular view across the Rocky mountains that I knew Sam would love. Nic instead ran into the room opposite the stairs and gasped.

'This one!' She said, running into the room and I grinned, walking into the Master bedroom. I telekinetically moved the black duvet off the bed slightly to lay Sam down inside, before tucking her up again. I kissed her forehead.

'I love you,' I whispered to her, amazed by how quickly I just accepted has as a massive part of my life. The chances of us realising that we were Soulfinder's if Nic didn't run up to me as we arrived in Blakeley for the first time. And in seconds, Sam was my everything. Being around her felt like we were at home, no matter where we were. We could be in the middle of a woods, or on a beach, or in a dark alleyway in the middle of London and I would still feel at home. I don't know how I would cope without her.

I backed away from her, leaving her asleep, into the new house. If they didn't meet me, would any of this have happened? Was I the cause for all of this?

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\

It had just turned half seven in the evening and I was trying desperately to keep Nic awake so she wouldn't get terribly jetlagged. With her help, we had unpacked near enough all the bags, and we had set up her room. She had unpacked all of her toys into the room, all her books onto her bookshelf and her games into the thatched box they left in the corner. She made me sit on her bed as she kept telling me about all of her toys – I had heard it all before several times but that was the trick with young children, just pretend you hadn't heard it before – before we went downstairs. She proceeded to help me cook her dinner, and Sam remained asleep.

We were sitting on the floor together, Nic was sitting between my legs, colouring her book on the floor whilst I was behind her. Every so often, Nic kept falling asleep and I had to keep waking her up or she would never catch up to the time zone.

I heard the floorboards creek upstairs and the sound of someone on the stairs. A few second later, Sam came into the room, looking slightly better but still tired. She rubbed her eyes.

'Mummy!' Nic shouted, getting up and running straight over to her. Sam bent down and picked her up spinning her around.

'Hey, Nic,' She said sleepily. I stood up, walking over to her, gently putting my arm around both of them. Sam leaned in against my chest.

'How are you now,' I whispered to her and she nodded.

'Better,' She replied back to me and I kissed her forehead gently.

'Now Mummy is awake, can I go to bed?' Nic asked sweetly, hugging her rabbit to her chest. She had already got changed into her pyjamas with a promise of walking around the town exploring on the list tomorrow. I also promised to take her into the woods behind the Benedict's house, which was where no one went. However, the sky had clouded up with silver and rust coloured clouds that indicated it could be a heavy snowfall, and Ella even gritted the pathways and driveways to both of our houses.

'Yeah, let's go to bed now then pumpkin,' I said to her. Sam walked over to the settee, where she sat down and curled up. I frowned at her and she noticed, shaking her head in a way that tells me she doesn't want to talk about it now. But what was up with her?

 **Hey! So me again - updating a bit more frequently but only this week! Er, my fanfiction is broken again - I don't know why but I always have issues and I have on every book but this time it's saying that there has been 0 reads on all the chapters in October - even though I've been getting reviews which I can't moderate but anyway thank you so much for all the reviews! I promise you find out what Sam's dream was within the next chapter, and lets just say it starts a snowball rolling which will change everything!**


	41. Chapter 40 - Sam

**Chapter 40 – Sam**

 _I ran through the woods, careful not to slip on the snow. I hadn't been in this town for long, but I knew that underneath the layers of powdered snow there was ice under, and falling over will still hurt. But still, I ran full pelt through the woods. I stumbled a few times, catching myself on a tree as I continued to follow the trail of footprints. My breath was making clouds in front of me, and my chest was close to exploding and I could no longer feel my feet which were soaked but freezing – which I was thankful for. My foot caught a pothole and I fell, scraping my head on a tree but despite the dizziness I didn't stop. They were not going to take my Nic from me again._

 _Suddenly, I broke through into a clearing. I had been here before; this is where we took Nic on the first day we were here. She played in the slow; she learnt how to control it. Now, she stood scared. I stopped running the second I saw who was standing in front of me. Luman Carnes – my father. Behind him, a man who had an air of smugness stood watching me. Was that my brother? And in the tree lines, I saw Tobias hanging around, staring at me with sorrow in his eyes. There were several other men hanging around in the trees that I could see. That doesn't mean there was more hidden where I can't._

 _Michael stood in the clearing, talking to Luman, his hand spread out to the back. Nic stood behind him, behind his hand, but her hand was holding onto his fingers. I edged forward, past where Ella and Joe stood to the left, holding Lily in their arms between them as she sobbed, and as Joe whispered words of comfort to the tiny girl, Ella continued to stare daggers. I couldn't hear what they were saying. I got close to Nic, but there was a hand on my wrist._

 _Lucy pulled me back, telling me something that I didn't hear. Jason was by her side, holding Tyler who was in a ski suit. Tyler appeared to be the only one dressed in for the bitter weather. Lucy told me something and I nodded. The conversation continued, turning from a talk to an argument, as Luman gestured to Michael and Michael argued back, with Ella adding in her say. Tobias joined in, addressing something to me and I didn't know what he said. I remained quiet and Michael replied for me._

 _Ella then handed Lily over to Joe, who continued to hug her, and walked forward to where Nic was, gently trying to guide her back to me but Nic wouldn't move. Why? Why was Nic frozen to the ground? I started to cry, tears burning down my otherwise chilled cheek. Ella continued to speak calmly to him but it tripped something in Luman. Anger. He pulled out the gun, and within a split second he aimed it at Michael's chest._

 _Bang. Bang._

I immediately jumped awake and tried to free myself from whatever was tying me down. I realised it was the duvet and I tried to calm down my breathing. I rolled over to see Michael beside me, eyes closed as he slept and immediately put my two fingers to his neck and found a pulse. Sighing with relief, I laid back into his arm that as across my pillow where he must have hugged me as I slept screwed my eyes up and started to cry.

I had seen that dream three times now in the last day or so. The first time I was on the plane, and I had woken up in a state of confusion but Michael was right there in front of me, with a happy Nic on his lap. The second time was when I was in this strange house, and when I ran to the window for some air I saw the forest of which my dream would take place, and broke down again. And now, again, but with more detail. I was unsure what exactly was happening in the dream, or what people were saying. But Michael got shot. I looked over at him, crying a bit more as I curled up. He got shot trying to protect Nic. I was torn between what to do; do I tell him? Or do I just pretend I don't know what will happen.

Determined not to wake up Michael – he had been so strong through the last week and had barely slept at all, too busy looking after me or sorting things out – I got out of bed and walked downstairs before I released the sob that had been building in my chest. Desperate for air, I grabbed a hoody and threw it over my pyjama vest top and headed into the kitchen. I scrambled around for a while with the keys, which we left on the side of the worktop, and the keyhole but eventually I pushed open the back door and walked into the garden.

I had become so disorientated with time, and location, that I wasn't entirely sure where we are or even what day it was. I took a deep breath in of bitingly cold air and could feel a headache coming on, and my ears popped. How high were we? Frowning, I turned around and saw mountains reaching up into the sky, a competition between them of who can reach the highest. That would explain the headache, then. We were miles above sea level.

'Sam?' I heard someone hissed and I jumped. Who was speaking?

'Yeah?' I replied back.

'It's Lucy – what are you doing up this early?' She asked, and I noticed her looking over the fence to the right. I near enough crapped myself and she laughed. 'Didn't you know we were neighbours?'

'No,' I told her, before walking over and undoing the latch on the fence. America was weird – did they always have adjoining gardens with gates?

Lucy walked through, immediately hugging me in a tight embrace. Her arms wrapped around my waist, holding me tight, swaying me from side to side and something in me broke. I cried to her and she immediately flew into over-protective mother mode. She kept telling me everything will be alright, this all just takes time, and not worry. I kept shaking my head – how will this be alright when Michael gets _shot?_ I kept trying to explain to Lucy what was happening but my words weren't making it through the tears.

'I can't understand what you are saying if you keep crying, can I?' Lucy asked me and I shook my head. 'So, let's go inside, have a cup of tea, and talk, okay?' I nodded and she guided me back into the kitchen I had yet to see properly. I came downstairs after the last dream, went straight into the lounge and I fell asleep on the sofa again. Lucy looked around the kitchen getting her bearings before she showed me towards the table pulling put a chair. I sat down, curling up on myself as I continued to cry. Lucy walked behind me, closing the door, before she found a kettle.

'So I found out most American's don't have kettles in their kitchen? It's atrocious, how do they function in the morning?' Lucy asked me, 'Like, the boys actually brought their kettles from England over here,' She said.

'I guess they live off coffee,' I muttered, wiping my tears away.

'Coffee is really nasty though,' She sighed, looking through the cupboard to find the teabags that I could only assume had also been important from England for us. She put a teabag into each mug, before turning back to look at me. She was in a baggy shirt and some pyjama leggings. She had just got back her figure from having Tyler, but she wasn't quite confident enough. I understood that from the way she just hugged herself as she looked at me.

'I thought you couldn't have coffee or tea?' I asked her.

'Nah, well,' She said, pulling a face, 'We're trying to get Tyler to drink from a bottle now, and I always could have a coffee I just never wanted to risk it. You don't know the pain until you have a baby who's had caffeine,'

'I guess,'

'Okay, so what's wrong,' Lucy said softly and I teared up.

'Please don't hate me,' I whispered as she brought me over my cup of tea. I took it grateful for the warmth, taking a sip that immediately calmed me down. Lucy sat down opposite me, her eyes shining, as she took a sip too.

'I won't ever hate you, you're my sister,' She replied back and I smiled at her.

'Okay, so since I was young I keep having dreams, and I used to write down these dreams in a notebook and I would tick them off when they come true. And every single one of them came true,' I explained and she nodded. 'So I kinda assumed I could see the future but that was never my gift, but I still noted them down and it ranged from falling over on sports day too someone dropping off my Nic. So a few weeks ago I had a dream that I was pregnant,, and then Michael found out about my dreams and found my notepad and he said whatever I wanted to do was fine,'

'That's adorable!' Lucy said beaming at me.

'I know,' I smiled in response. 'But on the plane, I had another dream. It was winter here, and there was a lot of snow, and I was running up a big hill and it was Michael, you were there with Tyler and Jason, and so were Ella, Joe and Lily who was crying. And loads of guys were there – Luman was, and someone else that I could only assume is your – our – our brother, and Tobias and some other people were all there in the trees and they were arguing and so on, and then Luman just pulled out a gun and shot Michael,' I said, breaking down again sobbing.

'Oh, Sam,' Was all Lucy could say, coming over to me and hugging me. 'So all your dreams come true?'

I nodded, the realisation sinking in. Michael would get shot. He might die. I curled up, crying hard, soaking Lucy's chest. Michael might die. What would I do without Michael? He was everything to me, and to Nic too.

'You need to talk to someone more experienced, like Ella or Joe. Or even Vick.'

'He's going to die,' I cried.

'He might not, Sam, but because we have warning we can set things up, we might not be able to change the outcome but even if he does get shot, we can have medics right there. That's probably why Jason was there, we can have precautions,' Lucy whispered.

'I don't want him to get hurt,' I cried.

'I know, Sam, I know,' Lucy said to me. 'Vick is coming over later to mine anyway, about half eight, to talk to the boys again, I'll take him to one side and tell him, okay?' Lucy said to me and I nodded.

'Thank you,'

'Now calm yourself down, try and go back to sleep and just enjoy being with Michael,' Lucy whispered to me.

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Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep. I lay in bed, snuggled up to Michael, just watching him. I had still felt that stabbing pain when I realised everything that I had dreamt about had come true so far it was inevitable that he would get shot. I curled up into him, resting my forehead against his cheek. I love him. I had been a right bitch to him recently but I loved him to pieces. I didn't want anything to happen to him. I had snuggled up happily to him, until about half nine he has started to surface. I noticed his arm went around my back, and his breathing increased slightly. I looked up at him as his eyes opened. It wasn't gradual, but all at once. One second, he was asleep, and the next second he was fully awake, his green eye shining at me. He leaned forward, kissing me ever so softly.

'Morning,' He whispered after he pulled apart. There was a lust in me for him caused by the fear of losing him. Not only did I want to remember his exactly, but I wanted him to be so closed to me it wasn't possible to be any closer. I started kissing him again passionately, my hands wrapping around his neck as his hands caressed my waist. I rolled over to straddle him as he started toying with my shirt running his fingers on the small of my back, breaking the kiss to take it off. He grinned at me, his eyes exploding with emotion as he rolled me back over and started kissing down my neck, working his way down but holding my hands above my head.

And I can safely say, everything that happened after was very much not safe for work, and will not be brought up in front of family.

It was about an hour or so later that Michael and I were both lying in bed, curled up in each other content, gently talking when a sleepy Nic walked through the door. She rubbed her eyes, holding the bunny in her arms. I quickly pulled the duvet up around my chest.

'Morning, pumpkin,' Michael said so softly that I felt flutters in my stomach. God, I was a lucky girl.

'Morning Mummy, morning Daddy,' She whispered as Michael got out of bed to go around and pick Nic up – the bed was way too high that I struggled to get into it, and I wasn't a four year old. It gave me the time to quickly slip on a shirt that I had managed to move from the other side of the room. Michael had taught me how to use telekinesis – a gift I knew I had but ever honed on as it seemed useless. However now – it was incredibly useful. He smiled at me softly as he picked up Nic, lying her down beside me. I hugged her as Michael crawled across me to snuggle up again. He had foreseen to put his boxers back on before Nic had walked in. 'Where are we?'

'We're in Colorado, sweetheart,' Michael said softly. 'It's in America,'

'America,' Nic whispered in awe as I hugged her. 'There's mountains, have you seen them?' She asked me. I nodded. I couldn't help but notice the snow-topped tips when I went outside crying. I looked at the clock seeing that Vick must have already been around at Lucy's and she was good to her word, she would have told him about my dream. He hadn't barged in here so that must be a good sign, right? Perhaps they just didn't believe me. I hoped they think I was lying. I hoped I was lying. I didn't want Michael to get hurt. The images ran through my mind, of seeing Luman raise the gun level with Michael's chest and the two shots.

'I did promise you we'd go up to the mountains,' Michael said to her, gently tiggling her as she rolled into a ball in my side and laughed. 'Do you want to go and get changed, and we'll get some breakfast and head up there? Perhaps invite Lily too?'

'Ya!' Nic said, rubbing her hand on her face before rolling to the edge of the bed and jumping down. She ran out the room, excited to go and play in the falling snow that I could just see from the window. Michael sighed slightly.

'Sam, what's happened?' He asked. 'You weren't shielding,'

I turned around to him in horror. He knew? But before I could do anything, I started to cry again as he put his arms around me, hushing me slightly. I hung onto him like he was a life raft on a drowning ship. He was the one going to get shot, and he was comforting me.

'I'm sure I'll be fine,' He said confidently.

'What do you mean? You've seen what's going to happen! You're going to get shot!' I sobbed.

'Yeah, and whilst that doesn't look like my best day, because you've seen it we can be prepared. I'll talk to Zed, see if he's seen anything like that as well, we don't quite know how your future telling gift can go. Joe can see the future too but he sees possible outcomes that sometimes don't happen, but Zed will see certain events and even if you avoid the situation, the outcome will be the same. So, if you're like Joe then it'll be fine, but if it's like Zed we'll plan everything around what we see in the dream. A couple of bullets won't kill me.' Michael said. Was he stupid? They would totally kill him. A bullet can rip through skin, bones, muscle and cartilage and can kill in seconds. A bullet has no mercy. It could totally kill him! I couldn't go back to living without him. I wouldn't survive in the world without Michael, he was everything to me.

'Please stop crying, Sam, this doesn't mean I'll die,' Michael said, kissing my forehead. 'You know, Zed's foreseen our wedding and he's let it out that you look absolutely stunning,' He muttered to me and I did a triple take.

'What?'

'Yeah, the night we got the girls back, he foresaw us getting married - he can't tell where or when, but he said you looked incredible, and Nic was flower girl too, so I won't die, that's why I'm not bothered by it. Shit happens, and I would rather it be me then you or Nic,' He whispered and I hit his arm.

'No. I'd rather it be none of us,' I muttered as Michael wiped away my tears.

'Well, I would rather it be none of us too, but at least this way Ella can't brag about being shot more times than me,' He said before kissing me softly. 'Don't worry about it, though, and as for the wedding, you'd look stunning in a black sack. You always look beautiful,' He said, kissing me one more time before he jumped up, putting back on a pair of joggers and a shirt. 'I'll start the pancakes,' He said, grinning as he jogged out the room leaving me alone. I wasn't entirely convinced of his plan – was it a plan or reassurance? – Or just how calm he was when he realised he was about to be shot.

I sighed, getting up and grabbing one of my bralettes and threw it on, before finding one of Michael's button up shirts and adding that onto the top. It wasn't normal for someone to be that calm to find out they were going to be shot. It was like I saw us having a curry tonight, and he agreed. Not that I saw him getting potentially murdered by my family. I realised what it meant and had to sit down. Michael got shot by my family. That was my Dad who shot him.

No. Someone like that would be never be a part of my family. My family was Michael and Nic, and the Benedict's. Lucy was my sister – but I didn't have a brother or a father. And then there was Tobias, hanging around by him. Fury filled me. Was he a part of Kingdom.

'Sam, sweetheart, pancake time,' Michael called up and I realised I had been standing around in my own thoughts for ten or so minutes. I sighed, before I jogged down the stairs. Michael was still there and his jaw dropped open as he saw me. He held out his hand to me, and the second I was close enough he pulled me into a hug. 'You're so beautiful, you know that,' he muttered very sweetly to me.

'I don't want you to get shot,' I whispered.

'It wasn't on my wish list, but shitter things have happened, don't worry yourself over it,' Michael told me quietly, before pulling me into the kitchen. 'How's it going,'

Nic was standing on a chair by the kitchen worktop, mixing in a big bowl. There was flour and water all over the work top, as well as down her pyjamas and I looked horrified at her but Michael just grinned.

'Good!' Nic said, mixing, happily bopping along like four year olds do. She started laughing slightly before telling her bunny, who was sitting on the side, what she was doing and if bunny would want any pancakes. I looked up at Michael, who was smiling at her so warmly that it made my heart melt. 'Can we still go to the mountains?'

'Yeah, we'll go later on, just keep mixing that for us,' Michael said. 'We'll just be in the other room, okay?'

'Okay Daddy!' Nic said happily. Michael gently pulled me into a walk so we went into the living room – I had yet to appreciate the house. It was decorated like a holiday home for short term visits. It was minimalistic, but warm and cosy with cream walls, warm lighting, a large canvas of the mountains and laminate flooring, with leather sofas and a low coffee table. A large TV sat in the corner, not turned out. Michael picked me up, forcing a tiny squeal from me, before sitting me down with me on his lap.

'So, we're due a little package,' Michael said, his hand wrapping around my waist and I looked at him in shock – what was he referring too? He gently played with the line of my hipster boxer shorts before realising what it sounded like. 'No not that, please calm down,' He said, laughing as I leaned into him. 'It's mainly just clothing for us lot for winter months, we didn't overly have mountain clothes, but when we get them I'm taking you to the place where I get shot,' He said grinning but I teared up. Why was he joking? This wasn't funny!

I hit his arm.

'Michael, this is serious!' I told him and his face dropped.

'Sweetheart, I know it's serious. I know that Vick already knows and he's told Ella and Ella's already had words with me. We're going to work on a plan. We can't stop it, no, but we can make sure that I get shot in the safest way possible. I know you're scared, but this kind of thing has happened before. We know how to prepare around someone seeing the future and how to optimise it so it goes our way. Sure, that's only been with missions and so on, but the principle still applies. I will still love you forever, and I will make sure I'm safe, and you're safe, and Nic is safe too. I'd rather this happen to me than either one of you two,'

'No,' I protested. 'You're not taking a bullet for us,'

'I think I am,' He said.

'No,' I said again and he raised an eyebrow.

'Right, Sam,' He warned, 'Stop being stubborn,'

'No! You're not getting shot for us, you're not getting shot.' I said, crossing my arms. In one swift movement, he flipped me over onto the settee and pinned me down. His breath was hot against my neck where he started kissing.

'We'll see about that,' He muttered.

The doorbell went before anything could get any juicier. Not that much would have happened with Nic in the next room whisking the pancake recipe, but Michael sat up slightly, grinned, before he climbed off and went to the front door. There was a small conversation with someone – I think it was Joe – but the door closed soon.

'This is the little parcel I was on about,' Michael said, coming around the corner with a huge box carrying it telekinetically. 'Nic, come here,'

'Yes, Daddy,' she replied back.

'You need to try some clothes on,' Michael said as Nic walked into the room, hugging her teddy. She grinned as she looked at the box.

'It's like Christmas,' She said in awe, a grin spreading across her face as she lingered behind Michael for a second. Michael stood to one side to let her go through and examine the box that was two thirds her size.

Christmas had always been an odd time for us; it didn't mean too much. As Blakeley traded in a large portion of a salary to a place to stay, job security, food and water, bills all paid for, we ended up with a very small pay check at the end. I had always seen in films how families with small children had Christmas' with fancy meals and big decked trees and loads of presents. I just couldn't afford that. So Nic last year made her own tree, and decorated it each day with flowers, and I bought her a few presents from "Santa," and she made me a plant. I looked at Michael, letting him into my thoughts. He nodded, understanding.

 _This year will be different._ He told me.

 _Really?_

 _Oh yeah, we don't go lowkey at Christmas in my family._ He said, winking at me. _It doesn't matter where we are, Christmas will be different this year. I make a mean roast._

I smiled slightly, remembering a few days previous when Michael made a Sunday roast. Wait – I tried to do the maths? Had all of this happened in less than a week? The girls were taken Tuesday morning, the letter had come in Tuesday night and the formulated the plan, we left Wednesday morning, got back Wednesday really late at night, and left Thursday to come over here. I clicked open my phone to see it was Friday, 4th November. So, the Sunday only five days previous we were at home, and none of this had happened. I thought I would be going back to school to teach again and Michael would be there on guard, and not being moved to Colorado because Nic got kidnapped by my family who I had just discovered. In five days, everything had changed. The World was still resettling, and I didn't know what I would lose in the settlement – it was probable that I could lose Michael.

* * *

 **Hiya!**

 **I'm really powering on through with these chapters - I'm guessing writing five thousand words on the formation of the CPS and the Criminal Justice system isn't my cup of tea. Or anyone's really. It's dull. Really, really dull.**

 **Anyway, thank you for the reviews again. However there was a very good question in the reviews; how do I manage time. The answer, well, the simple answer: Bribery.**

 **So I go to university 4 days a week, work two - which leaves one day. So on my four days, three days I have is three hours of lectures, with two hours of travelling without any traffic and let's not even lie, anyone who commutes knows there's god damn traffic. Did I mention I live in England and the waiting time for roundabouts that are everywhere? So I'm basically out the house from 9am in the morning until four in the afternoon. For every hour of lectures, it's recommended three hours of work. So I come home, from 4pm until around half eight I do that extra work. Half eight is shower and dinner time, then from nine until ten it's free time that I use to write. Of course, sometimes I overwork. And then from ten until bedtime is sleep.**

 **Now that seems like a good schedule - and I'm sure it would be if I stuck to it. But guess what? I don't! I can't be bothered to do my work most of the time, and if I do I'm too tired by the end to write. So, I work on motivation. I say if I do this work based on the biological psychology unit, I can have a lemon sherbet or a small sweet and so on. I always** **have something on in the background and I normally go for a series; one I have watched before. So I normally go for House. I watched it when I was younger, but not enough to remember it; I never watch it but it's background. I always find hearing people talk smart makes me feel smart so I will do the work. However for reading I use a website called mynoise and listen to rain as I find it relaxing and cute. Anyway, if I go into a store and decide I want to grab a shirt. Nothing much, but I normally get cheap shirts around £5 each, everytime I do a set work piece I put twenty to fifty pence in a jar, and save up so I work to get my shirt. I like this technique as you'll be amazed how much work you do. Honestly highly recommend it.**

 **But time management is tricky. Uni degree, work, writing this, still trying to finish off the other three books as wel as the other book that getting published.**

 **I'm blabbling but the question was on anonymous so I had to answer.**

 **Anyway, so now we know Sam's dream. Uh oh.**


	42. Chapter 41 - Sam

**Chapter 41 – Sam**

We had dressed to walk up the mountain on the very cold winter's morning in Colorado. The snowfall from the night had settled and whilst we let Nic out to play in the snow, we could tell she was dying to go up into the mountains to play with it with her gift. The parcel had contained suitable thicker clothes for all of us for the climate, which involved base layers and thermals, coats and skiwear. Nic had a new wardrobe full of clothing which Michael helped her get dressed into as I continued to make pancakes for everyone. It was about midday when we were finally ready to go. Ella and Joe had told us they're coming with us, bringing Lily with us. Charlie was staying with one of Ella's many brothers which would at least allow me to speak to one of the duo without a baby getting involved in the mix.

Nic had got dressed into whatever Michael had set out for her – a set of black thermals which went under her jeans and t-shirt, and a coat over the top with a pair of winter boots which had snow grips on the bottom, designed to stop hyper active kids from falling over. I had also put on some base layers and my thick coat and was waiting in the lounge when we heard a knock at the door. Michael came out from the kitchen where he was finishing whatever he was doing to open it as I gestured for Nic that it was time to go.

'Yo,' Ella said, hugging Michael in the doorway. I watched him sway his sister slightly before he let go and she frowned at him but didn't say anything. 'Ready to go?' She asked him. She must know about my dream.

'Ya!' Nic said running up to the door, hugging Ella. Ella bent down to hug her, and I saw that Ella just had a hooded jumper on and a pair of leggings making us lot in mountain thermals look melodramatic. Michael looked at me and I got up from the settee, putting on my backpack before walking to the door. Nic ran past Michael outside to where Lily was playing in the snow on the garden. Joe was standing just behind Ella with thermals on too – the temperature was edging around freezing and it was still snowing – and was watching Ella slightly. He had a backpack over his shoulder.

'We're driving?' Michael asked Ella and she frowned.

'Walking,' Ella corrected him.

'All that way?' Michael questioned and Ella shrugged.

'It's not that long; we'll stop by and get coffee and hot chocolate for the kids. It's not like we have anything else to do and we can talk too,' Ella said as Michael got out the way for me to slide through before he turned and locked the door behind him. I watched Nic and Lily happily playing in the snow together, both of them talking to each other but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Ella gestured for Lily to come over, and she crouched down and said something to Lily, and the child nodded happily before kissing Ella sloppily and running back over to Nic. Both of them started to walk off, Ella following them. Without so much of another word, Michael caught up with her and Joe and I were left straddling the group.

Joe wasn't a big talker. I had been told this relentlessly and I had experienced it. He was quiet, kept himself to himself and any silence around him was never awkward. He was such a fatherly figure as well, and when he did talk it was always in such a caring tone. Whilst he was huge – an inch or two taller than Michael and well built too – he had a gymnasts grace and he pulled it off perfectly. But I had seen how rude and biting he was to Tobias and I couldn't blame him for that, as Tobias appeared to have gone to Kingdom to buddy up with my evil father. But that was the only time he was crude. Now, he was silent and thoughtful.

It made sense how him and Ella slotted together. Ella could talk for England, and she never stops moving. Even when she was sitting down she was always moving, twitching her foot or doing something. Between them, they were a complete pair and must be in textbooks for the ideal Savant Soulfinder duo.

'I'm assuming you've been asked to talk to me about my dream?' I asked him after we crossed a small road and we started following road signs to the town centre. Nic and Lily were leading the group, with Lily somehow remembering the directions all by herself.

'Yeah,' Joe said softly and I nodded. 'But if you don't want too, that's understandable,'

'You're sweet,' I sighed knowing I will have to talk to him. They had set this up perfectly.

'I won't force you too, I'm not near your mind Sam, I don't believe in that. I don't do that unless I have too. You should have the freedom to exert your mind as you want to within reason and within the law and forcing you to talk to me won't help anyone,' Joe said, looking out to the mountains that just looked stunning in the sunlight. The snow storm has eased to a brisk flurry and the snow was fresh under our feet, making a satisfying crunch sound with every step.

'So you've never made anyone tell you anything?' I asked him and he hesitated.

'Criminals, those that El and I see in the Twist, those we need to speak, however I do not look at anything other than the case at hand. I can very easily remove someone's memories to leave them a shell, or like a baby again. I will only ever remove memories from someone if they ask me too, they know the risks of how it'll impact their life, and I'd only do it if they're able to process their decision with the correct cognitions.' Joe said.

'Example?' I asked, intrigued by his gift.

'Your sister would be able to back me up. She used to have terrible nightmares about what happened to her in Kingdom, she'd never be able to sleep without having nightmares and reliving what had happened to her. The night she met Jason and they stayed together, she punched Jason thinking it was your father, and Jason called me when she broke down crying. I offered to remove those memories completely but she thought she'd be like a shell without her – it would have been fifteen years of her life she'd just never remember – so we compromised and I removed the emotions and the audio to those memories. She can remember what happened, but not what was said and not what she felt either,' Joe explained to me and I wanted to tell him everything but I didn't want to give it away so easily. I barely knew him. I knew Ella a lot better than I knew him. I decided if I was going to talk readily to him about my dream state I wanted to know him better.

'Can we play twenty questions?' I asked him and he hesitated for a second.

'Yeah,' He said conclusively. 'You first,'

'When you first met Ella, how did you feel about her?' I asked him.

'Oh, I thought she was incredibly beautiful and perfect,' Joe said. 'We had met ages ago when we were like, seventeen or something, and I was an asshole back then but the first time we properly met she had flown over from here to England for a girls holiday with Sky, Phee and Crystal and had been dragged into Maui to do an interview on this wife killer. Maui teams work in pairs, and as you can imagine finding someone willing to work with big gob is tricky so they were like "fuck it, let's try Joe," so my brother drove me into work. And I remember walking into the room and she was already there and I was just blown away. Her hair was a bit shorter than it is now, and she had it down and it was sitting over her shoulders and she had just looked at me to see who walked in the room and her eyes were just so pretty. She was bloody gorgeous in such a subtle way I lost myself right there and then. I was blessed to be in a room with her and I fell in love with her there and then. She got cold pretty soon after and I gave her my hoody, and she looked like a dumpling in it and from there on in I was completely obsessed with her. We had a few days together after including the party which is how Lily came about, and she flew back here and I refused to leave my room for two months,' Joe explained sweetly and I immediately liked Joe a lot more. 'What about you with Michael?'

'I hated him,' I told him and he smiled.

'Yeah, same,' Joe said and I frowned, 'I hated Michael. Well, I was more scared of him; he had words with me about not ever touching Ella then the whole terrorist thing happened and when she came back, Ella was practically dead and I was fine had a few burns, Michael blamed me for what had happened to her. Something clicked when I refused to get myself treated for burns but I wanted to watch Ella's surgery. I couldn't speak, I just watched her being operated on, I watched her heart stop on the table, I was with her every second and Michael continued to be a dick and I was crying and I was a mess and Michael realised that there was something up, I told him we're Soulfinder and he didn't believe me but he was like fine, and eventually he was okay with me. And then he found out Ella was pregnant and he wasn't very happy as you can imagine,' Joe told me.

'God, yeah,' I said and he smiled to me.

'We're good now, though,' Joe said and I nodded. 'How did you react when you first got Nic?'

I sighed. 'I was so confused. I had no family, no one to call my family either, and I was in the middle of doing my PhD. It had been an odd day but no more than normal, I was asked to cover a class and I went back to my dorm room to continue with my work at about eleven. The day before I had been really ill and Tobias had stopped me crying and carried me to my room and he wanted to see me on our lunch break. I got a call across the announcement system asking me to go to front reception. You only ever go to front reception when you join the Academy, if you're being picked up or you leave through there after you graduate so it was alarming to start with. So I ran down there, and there was a car seat in the middle of the room, and I saw a female walk down the stairs to a car, but before I could even process what had happened, they drove off and Nic started crying. There was a letter saying the person knew me and trusted me too, and her Dad was my Soulfinder and her name was Nicole,' I explained, looking at Joe.

'Bloody Hell, what are the chances, eh?'

'I know,'

'Coffee?' Michael turned around on the spot as he continued to walk backwards, asking us the question. Joe nodded and I stood there slightly hesitant for a second before agreeing too, the cold not overly affecting me at the moment but I wasn't too sure if it was the conversation at hand or the thermals doing the job. I wanted to tell Joe about my dreams, he might be able to answer some of my questions, but it had been such a personal thing for so long trusting someone so quick was tricky for me.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

We had been walking very slowly for just over an hour and a half, and Joe and I had exerted ourselves of our twenty questions and I knew him a lot better. I knew about all of his brothers and his sister, his nephews and nieces and he told me about his two brothers who both work at Maui too. Jake, who I met a few times, had four kids and Quinn, who I've yet to meet, had a three week old baby girl named Grace. I knew about his fears of losing Ella because of how impulsive she was and how many close calls she had in her life. I knew how scared he was during Ella's pregnancy with Lily, and how they both spent the last few weeks of her pregnancy barely speaking to each other because he had gone behind her back to go and have a life-threatening lung condition sorted from the terrorist attack and he regrets not telling her. I knew how him and Jason met. I knew his middle name.

'I believe we only have one question left each,' Joe said, throwing his paper cup from coffee in the bin. We had taken our drinks on the walk with us, Ella and Michael still deep in conversation together and Lily and Nic walking along happily playing. 'You can go first,'

'What is Lily's gift?' I asked curiously, watching her.

'In all honestly, we have no clue. She's shown signs for doing so many things that we just don't know. We wanted to leave it and let her do her own thing and encourage it to develop however it went to develop but when she was born, she use to cry non-stop if Ella was in pain and she stopped doing that around her first birthday, and then she used to be able to sense emotions but only of couples, and that stopped around her second birthday, then she didn't have a sign of anything until Ella was taken in that kidnapping last year where she managed to see in her sleep where Ella was. And before we went down to Blakeley, she kept telling Michael he'll get married down there and Michael didn't overly care thinking it was just some more rubbish that kid says at time, and then she pointed you out, we think she might be –'

'A Soulseeker?' I asked in shock. They were rare with only one being left in the world – there was two until one passed away last year. Crystal Benedict was the only one left, recently married to Xav. I watched the happy kid bumble around. 'But they're...'

'Rare. And strong, yeah. We've got an interesting one on our hands,' Joe said compassionately. 'I wouldn't change her for the world though, even though I was so clueless when she was born, I just don't like how quick she's growing up again. I used to love it when she was a baby and I could just hold her and let her sleep on my chest and when she couldn't talk, it was so quiet it was brilliant, but that's why we had Charlie and now he's growing up,'

'Would you have another child?' I asked him and he smiled slightly.

'You've used up your twenty questions,' Joe said smugly. 'My last question; what was your dream?'

Now a lot more comfortable around Joe, feeling like I had known him for a while even though we had only been walking and talking for just over an hour, I found it easy enough to talk to him about my dreams. I explained to them how long they had been happening for and some of my previous dreams. He didn't seem to freak out like Michael when I mentioned the pregnancy dream, he just nodded. And I told him in depth about what happened. Even when I teared up slightly, starting to panic, he hugged me to his side, gently rubbing circles on my arm get me to calm down.

'Sam,' He said very softly like a hunter comforting a dying animal of which he had previously shot. I knew what was coming. 'I think you can see the future,'

'No, but then Michael... he'll get... Joe,' I said in a mass panic.

'Sam, calm down, he won't...' I wanted Joe so badly to say "hurt," but instead he finished his sentence with "die," which didn't fill me with hope. 'I think the fact that you ran into the scene end everyone was there is the best thing, because it makes it appear that we have a plan and we have people on standby,'

'You think?' I asked.

'Oh, I know,' Joe said. 'So obviously Nic and Lily are in the same school year together, and not only has Zed seen them in the same nursery play together which is late December, which is about six weeks time, but he's also seen your wedding, so he's not going to die or the extent of his injuries won't affect him badly because Michael's there for Nic's play, and you'll get married in the next few months. Also, adding in that pregnancy dream, how can that happen if he's dead?' Joe pointed out. I hadn't considered it in that sense but the pain still hurt. I couldn't let Michael get hurt.

'It'll kill me,' I muttered and Joe nodded.

'If it didn't kill you to see someone you love hurting, then you don't love them,' Joe said.

'I want to have your outlook on the World,' I sighed and he smiled gently. 'Have you always been like this?'

'God no, but it's what being with Ella has taught me. You never know the true extend of your love until it's nearly gone, and it'll make you stronger.' He looked longingly after her and I wondered how bad her injuries were to make Joe change from being the idiot he was before her met her, to this soft gentle therapist/councillor like man beside me. And if Ella made that change to him without her even knowing – will Michael being with me change him at all? As I had the thought Joe looked at me in surprise. 'Yeah, he's changed too, good change though,'

I could see a large mountain lodge at the end of the path and I knew we weren't far away from the Benedict's house. We needed to start wrapping up this conversation. I wasn't entirely sure what Michael and Ella were talking about, but they too hadn't stopped talking this entire way and it had been nearly two hours in the snow.

'My dream,' I muttered to Joe.

'Already thought about it, if you wouldn't mind, at some point I would like to send you to sleep –'

'Excuse me?'

'Can I finish my sentence first?' He laughed gently. 'It's what I can do; I can do what Michael does but in a different way. You've never really seen the extent of his gift. He can make your brain do things you don't want to do and you know that you're not in control, he can wipe your brain like a virus in a computer's hard drive, and he can manipulate your mind to do the unfathomable. He uses it though to check for DNA traces by entering the minds coding and genetic structure and observing it for biological links. Despite what people say, Michael is extremely smart and he deserves that first class Masters' degree in bio something. I'm more subtle, I persuade your brain to do what I say, you're not aware of it if you haven't been told. I can persuade your brain to make you fall asleep but to let me watch which sounds creepy but it's what I'd like to do. I'd then persuade your brain to have that dream and I can note it down at the same time, and we'll make a plan to ensure that, not only is Michael safe and after he gets shot that he gets immediate medical attention, but we can finally capture Luman and his posse.'

'I thought you said you can't touch Luman,'

'Well, Ella likes finding loopholes. She'll work out something,' Joe said as Lily and Nic ran across the driveway to the house in an apparent race.

'I'm scared,' I whispered to him, feeling like he's my new best friend, joint with his wife. I had felt better talking to him. He didn't tell me that perhaps Michael won't get shot, and it's just a dream and it won't come true. He hadn't fed me lies and I was extremely grateful for that. He told me the truth and the best way to deal with it. It was what I needed to calm myself down. To make me feel like my fear wasn't entirely irrational and can be dealt with.

'Me too,' He replied back softly, hugging me again.


	43. Chapter 42 - Michael

**Chapter 42 – Michael**

We had just reached the top of the slope by the Benedict's house, passing the turning to the ski lift and its respective car park. If my watch was correct, we had been walking for over two hours, walking incredibly slowly and stopping for coffee. We were letting Nic and Lily to set the pace, which is why a normal twenty minute walk was taking so long. However, Ella had agreed to let Lily set the pace as it allows time for Sam and Joe to talk about her dream. Several times Ella and I let our conversation die to hear the pair talking. It was clear as anything it was worrying Sam, she hadn't been herself since being in Colorado. She was terrified.

I, on the hand, didn't overly care. I had taken the fact I would get shot in my strife and didn't care anymore. I knew I was in good hands when it will happen, surrounded by family, with Jason on hand. I knew that Nic would be doing something – Ella had suggested that she might be on hand to make plants around them to catch them. I did find it very odd that, if we knew I was going to get injured, why Nic was there. I wouldn't want Nic to worry about me. I didn't want anyone there really. I didn't want Sam to be there either, she would become so distressed. Ella said that everyone was there for a reason.

'Do they look okay?' I asked Ella and she closed her eyes for a second, projecting back to Sam and Joe. She came back a few seconds later.

'They're fine,' Ella said. 'Joe's offered to watch that dream so we can set up a plan so you don't get killed,' Ella said.

'Useful,' I said. 'Is Sam upset?'

Ella looked at like I was stupid. 'Duh, look she clearly loves you, this will destroy her and despite anything you may say, this will hurt her and there's not much you can do about it. You both have to accept this will happen soon, and you'll get shot, and it'll hurt her so much to watch you in pain, so we can make that plan. We need it as soon as we can,' Ella said as Lily made it to the front door before Nic. We heard someone jogging up the snow behind us and Joe grabbed Ella around her waist, kissing her neck as he spun her around. Ella squealed and laughed slightly, before hugging him back.

I dropped back and Sam walked into me. She went to apologise and I immediately hugged her to my chest, kissing her softly. I didn't want to be the reason she would be so down. I had seen that side of her twice now; once when I first met her and a few days ago when Nic was taken. The side of her that doesn't smile, who sits around curled up with vacant eyes and nervous hands. It was really painful to watch someone you love that scared, that lonely and that down. I didn't want to hurt her.

'Michael,' She whispered ever so slightly.

'I love you,' I muttered back, hugging her tight not wanting to forget what it was like to be around her. One thing was certain; we were completely unaware of when this will happen. And whilst the logical answer would be to wear a bullet proof vest, that was completely impractical.

'I love you too Michael,' She said, 'Is there no way we can stop this?'

'No,' I muttered back and she cringed. 'I'll be fine,' I muttered but I wasn't entirely sure. Would I be okay? I'd survived yes, but being shot in the chest is very dramatic and can have life altering affects. And with Nic seeing that too, who knows how the four year old will react to seeing her father get shot?

'Joe said he's going to send me to sleep to watch my dream,' Sam sighed. 'Do you think it's a good idea?'

'Yeah, let Joe does his thing, he's good with things like this. He can work out when it'll happen, and whilst he'll hide the date from us two, he'll tell us exactly what to do,' I told her and she nodded. 'Does he want to do it now?'

'Yeah,' Sam muttered and I frowned. Joe normally likes to plan these things but he's acting with urgency now. I know he has his set of rules that he won't break, like I have my own agenda and rules for my gift, it keeps us within the lines of humanity and decency.

'Okay,' I said, pulling her to walk the last twenty feet to the house. Ella had already opened the door, and herself, Joe and Lily had all gone in. Nic stood on the front door step waiting for us. I pulled her into a walk as she remained hugged into my side. As we walked closer, I could see everyone in the Benedict family had made themselves scarce; heading back home after yesterdays flight or heading to the cable cart station. It had snowed enough that keen skiers were heading up the slope and we could hear the faint rumble of the cart heading up to the mountain tops.

'Will it hurt?' Sam asked me softly as she saw Joe waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me. He had taken off his coat, and had his shirt off taking off his thermal base layers. I watched him say something, gesturing into the lounge, before he threw his shirt back on.

'No,' I said, but in all honesty I had no idea if it would hurt or not. Joe waited anxiously at the bottom of the stairs, fiddling with his sleeve. I let Sam walked through the door before and Joe smiled softly at her trying to calm her down. Sam looked back at me and I nodded, and she walked up the stairs.

'Jesus, she's just taking a nap not giving birth,' Ella commented from the sofa, where she had picked up a sleeping Charlie and Lily sat next to her, 'Sit down and calm down,'

I sighed, walking into the living room. Nic ran out of nowhere and hugged my legs, and I saw Saul and Karla sitting at the other end of the room watching intently. I picked Nic up, kissing her cheek before sitting on the armchair with my daughter on my lap.

It was about an hour or so later that we had heard movement from upstairs. Karla and Saul had left the room to go back to work after Ella advised them that everything would be okay and she would probably still be here when they finished their shifts at the water school. There hadn't been much movement from upstairs; the odd floorboard creaking but it wasn't much. Charlie had gone back to sleep and was in his travel cot across the room and Ella laid down on the sofa, hugging Lily as she lay beside her. I was still on the armchair, Nic asleep in my arms still struggling to keep up with the time zone changes. But this time there was definitely movement from upstairs. It started off with a creaky floorboard at the back of the room, the shift of some furniture. A door opening, footsteps on the landing - it wasn't Sam, but it meant Joe was finished with her dream. Ella continued to watch TV not worrying that her husband finished doing his dream reading on Sam but I was on edge. Did he hurt her? I doubt it and if it hurt, it was by accident. Joe was pure. I heard him walk down the stairs, before he turned around the door. I frowned, turning around to see Ella's face light up to see her husband. He smiled at Ella, and turned back to me.

'She's just in a light sleep stage now, she'll be awake in about twenty five minutes, do you want to go and see her?' Joe asked softly, walking over straight to Ella, kneeling down beside her. I frowned at him for a moment and he got back up. 'I'll take Nic for you, Sam won't be happy when she wakes up,' He said, coming over and gently scooping Nic up. 'She needs you,' Joe prompted as I just stared at him. I watched him say something to Nic gently, and Nic nodded, as he kneeled down beside Ella. Ella said something back to Joe, and Joe replied before the pair looked at me.

'Michael,' Ella sung and I jumped up.

'Yeah?'

'Sam, go and find her?' Ella said as Joe gently held Nic. I nodded.

'Thanks,' I whispered, leaving the room. I turned around at the bottom of the stairs to see Joe gently placing Nic back down on the armchair, pulling the blanket around her and putting a pillow under her head. I jogged up the stairs, waiting, on the landing of the first floor. Waiting to sense where Sam was. It made sense for her to be in Ella's bedroom, asleep in her bed. I ran up the other stairs and turned left into the room.

Sam was curled up on her side, one hand under a pillow and the other on top of the duvet. She looked peaceful, asleep. However, there were damp tears on her cheek where she had been crying in her sleep. I should have asked Joe what he found out. I know he couldn't tell me. This had to be a massive secret from all of me for my sake. But it was destroying Sam. I knelt down beside her, gently stroking her hair and the damp from her cheek. She was seeing this time after time. She wasn't the same. She wasn't the Sam I had met. Well, the Sam I met was hostile. She hated me. She broke down in the classroom at me but still. The Sam I met after that. She wasn't like that Sam, who enjoyed cuddles and thought that all I did at work was stop petty thefts.

I must have been kneeling down for a substantial amount of time as she started to resurface. She looked uncomfortable, her face distorting slightly from peace to pain.

'Sam, sweetheart, I'm here,' I told her and she frowned. 'Sam come on, wake up,'

She jumped awake, flinching back from me. I held my hands up to show I wasn't armed, so she knew her dream wasn't happening. She looked utterly confused at me, before she hit herself back into the sprung bed covering her eyes with her hand.

'Michael,' She whispered her voice contort in pain.

'I'm still here,' I whispered back to her.

'Has Joe said anything?' She asked me.

'No,' I muttered back and she turned around, going to cry into the pillow. I sat down on the bed, rubbing her back. 'He can't tell me, remember?'

'I want to go home, Michael, I want all of this to stop,' She whispered pain laced in her voice. 'I want to go back to Blakeley... and,'

'You wouldn't want me?' I asked and she looked up at me.

'No, of course I want you Michael! I didn't want any of _this_!' She yelled. 'I didn't want to lose my only friend, I didn't want to lose Nic and I can't lose you too!' She looked up at me. 'You don't get it, Michael, Tobias left and now he's gone, and Nic was taken and she's back. It's fifty fifty at the moment, and you're the third one. I don't want you to leave!'

'Sam...'

'No Michael, you're too calm about this, about someone else playing God! You're acting like no one matters in this God damn world including yourself! Can't you see it – you, you are the thing I want. You're the one person I can't lose. No, you and Nic are the only people I can't lose and I already lost Nic.' She was yelling now, her voice cracking, eyes blurred with tears and nose running. She was the embodiment of fear and sadness. 'You're acting like this is fine Michael but, but, I don't care what Zed has seen in the future, or how many people say we have a plan to be made, and how it'll be fine but it won't be. You will get hurt. You're going to get shot. Stop acting like a God damn saint, Michael. You're not an angel. You're not a biblical reference. You know, Michael in Hebrew is "who is like God," and you're not,' She said and I frowned.

'What I'm trying to say is you're not this almighty source of power, and you're going to get hurt and no one is making this a big issue like it is, I know I'm not overreacting but everyone else is so calm. Am I going insane? Is this me, going crazy?' She asked me.

'No.' I said. 'You care,' I mumbled.

'Does that mean no one else care?' She whispered to me.

'Other people care, not as much as you.' I said, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

'I love you, that's why Michael. Other people love you, but, but not the way I do.' She said, looking up at me. 'I can't do this; I really don't think I can,'

'We can't change what's going to happen,' I told her and her face sunk. She knows we can't. She doesn't want it to happen but there was nothing we could do to stop the inevitable.

'Michael!' I heard Ella call from the bottom of the stairs. Sam looked up at me, hugging the duvet around her. Sam looked up hopefully at me.

 _What's up?_ I asked Ella telepathically.

 _Joe's already making a plan, don't come downstairs. However, later on, you'll need to take the kids out into town by yourself and we'll need to keep Sam here with us – everyone's going to be coming over. Cameron, Chris, Lucy, Yves and Will at the very minimum._ She explained, walking from the bottom on the stairs. I frowned. Ella asked for a very concise team then, of people who knew Kingdom. Sam, because it was her dream. But Cameron, Chris and Lucy? And then why Yves and Will?

 _What are you planning?_

 _We're going to hack Kingdom's servers. We're taking them offline._

* * *

 _Hello! So soon this book will slowly come to an end (well, maybe not slowly but it's starting to draw itself down, I'm writing some on the ending chapters now) so it's kind of left as to what to do now. What do you want me to do? I could either so a second book after Destroying Sam, like I had done for Ella and Lucy (although I still have to finish both of them. So I might do them, but that's a spare time job) or do you want a completely separate book?_

 _Basically what I'm asking is what do you want me to write? What do you want to read? I'm open for anything - I thought it would be tricky doing a fast tracked degree and writing but the writing aspect is kind of like a calming thing, so I really do want to continue it. But, I don't know what to write - so what do you want to see?! :)_


	44. Chapter 43 - Sam

**Chapter 43 – Sam**

 **Later that same day**

Michael had left with the kids in tow, taking them into the town with a promise of a hot chocolate to them both. I had been broken and glued back together in my sleep state by Joe, but I no longer felt burdened by the dream, like it was weighing entirely on me to get this all sorted out and to make a plan. That wasn't the case anymore. Joe had seen everything I had seen and more. He told me he could look at the dream like a blueprint based on what I know and then assume positioning from there on in. He said he would make there be more people than I could see because not only was that likely but at least it would prepare us better. At the end of the dream, he withdrew from my mind telling me Michael would be there when I wake up but I was more hurt than ever. I yelled at him. I cringed just remembering the incident. And now I was in the Benedict's kitchen planning on doing something stupid.

'I don't think I understand what we're doing?' I asked, standing to one side slightly awkwardly. I was snug in the corner of the kitchen, watching Ella and Joe setting up their laptops on the table, plugging their charging lines into the extension, and the extension into the wall. Yves already had a laptop set up.

'They're going to drop the shield against the Benedict's computer.' Lucy said, 'I don't know what will happen then,'

'Earlier, we sent an email from an internet Cafe in central Thailand. One of the FBI guys is on holiday there.' It was Chris who started to explain the plan. Lucy stood by my right hand side, sipping a glass of orange fizzy, Cameron was helping set up the computers. I was glad for him that Ella and Michael were talking to him – perhaps they were starting to overcome their shock – Cameron was lovely and he deserved to at least have his brother and sister back. Chris was on my left hand side, sipping some coffee. 'Kingdom still has emails, but the address is a serial number at a serial number. I remembered some, the ones for security. The place is swarming with guys who are techies, who are try to get inside the Benedict's computer, the net, the Grey net, every single computer used by Maui but you all have this shield. I worked there for years and I learnt not only how to try and fight this shield but how to make it stronger. I was working for both sides but only one was voluntarily. The main thing we couldn't find was the IP address, and there is a massive chunk of coding missing – you can't get into house undetected if it has no doors, no windows, no keys, no holes and it's just brick. You can get a sledgehammer, yes, but you'll be noticed. Same principle applies.'

'Right,' I said, not overly knowing. I wasn't good with technology.

'We sent the email to one of the bad people in Kingdom, who's... er... who's wife went missing a while back. Since then he's been set on results, he would record it in record time, so we had to send it to him,' Chris said cautiously. He looked over at Lucy who continue to sip her drink and I put two and two together very quickly. It took me just over a moment to find Chris' telepathy channel.

 _Lucy was his wife to be._ I asked him. He looked temporarily shocked that I found him but masked it well.

 _Yeah. In Kingdom, you get married between eighteen and nineteen. She was the bosses daughter, so she was due to be married off on her eighteenth to this guy who was head of security at that point. Now, he's one of the big guys and he's still waiting out on Lucy being brought back in for him. He's been offered other brides, but he wants her._

 _Does she know?_

 _I don't think so. She knows she'd be married off if she stayed there. Kingdom don't know about Jason or Tyler though, and they won't find out either. Kingdom is very outdated. They know about you and Nic, but they don't know you're with Michael. They know you live together, but they don't know about your bond. She can't find out either._

'So this guy,' Lucy gestured into the air not picking up our telepathic conversation, 'what can he do with the IP address,'

'Well, the IP is for that computer there,' he gestured to the one at the top. 'We'll drop the software protecting the laptop from the hackers, and they'll try and DOS the server,'

'What?' I asked

'It brings down the servers running the laptop. So we set up two phoney servers, so they'll bring them down and redirect it to the It'll bring it out of action, they'll have access to the laptop which of course has been wiped and filled with fake documents.'

'I don't see how this will help us,' I sighed, and Chris gestured for me to hold on a second. I pressed my lips too.

'No, but by doing that, Kingdom will bring down it's shields and we can attack them back. We're looking for the daily itinerary they have, and they have them months in advance for every single person. It's critical information because it will involve bringing Michael "down". They would have already planned it. It'll be able to give us a date and a time to work on,' Chris said, before gently squeezing my shoulder. 'I know this can't be easy, Sam, you're doing incredibly well. If you need me, you know where I am alright? We're practically family,' He told me softly and I nodded.

'So they're hacking that laptop just for us to hack them back?' Lucy shot back.

'Correct,'

'And this is a flawless plan,' Lucy asked

'Nope,' Chris said. 'Far from, but if at any point it's gone too far, a, it won't really affect anything as that laptop is actually an empty shell and the documents they'll get are worthless and b, we can always pull out, disconnect the affected servers and throw the DOS attack back at them, giving us time to get the shield back up. We know they'll be monitoring that IP address religiously now, the second that shield is down they'll be onto us but this is all part of the plan. We're double crossing those bastards,'

'Weren't you one of those "bastards" the other day, though?' I asked him curiously and he sighed.

'I did it to live, Sam,' Chris hissed. 'They took me away from my family, they wiped my identity, I was no one. I was forced to conform or die, Sam, I did what I had too. I might be one of those "bastards" but I did everything I could to keep everyone case. I turned the cameras off when Lucy escaped so they couldn't see where she went. After Brooklyn requested for Nicole to be sent to you, I was the one who cleared Nicole. I was the one who ensured the letters got to you, Sam, and I was the one who cared for Nic the three weeks between Brooklyn giving her up and sending her to you, I was the one who fed her, gave her antibiotics. Cameron helped too; we made sure Nic was okay when she was ill. She never slept, but we made sure your daughter was okay and this was before we learnt who her father was. And then we kept throwing them off the track of Ella, we disabled alarms so Lucy and Ella and all the other girls could get out safely, we changed the programming on the tracking chips in the cars. I've stopped or changed thousands of missions to keep innocent people safe,'

'Sorry,' I whispered but then I looked up at Chris, who was watching me. He still looked young but a few years older than myself and the family similarities between Ella, Michael and the two new found brothers. Chris had a mousey blonde hair and bright green eyes and a sprinkling of freckles. He suited them like Ella and Michael did. 'Thank you... thank you for Nic,'

'Anything to help family,' Chris whispered to me.

'Kids, we're getting ready,' Ella said and Cameron grinned at her with a childish glee. 'So Will, you log into the main computer, open up nothing and then keep these passwords safe, they'll all various number and letter sequences that aren't passwords of anyone, and then just open up a document and type this in,' He nodded, clicking his fingers. 'Yves, you ready?' She asked; open the second computer up, Yves on the first.

'Yup,'

'We can do this,' Cameron said, sliding in between Ella and Yves. Chris moved over to Ella's side – they'll be able to track Kingdom's moves on trying to hack the computer. They'll be so concentrated on trying to get into the servers, that they'll forget that once the shields down the door is open from both side, and Ella can go in and grab the itinerary. All of this to grab a date for them? Seems extreme.

'Okay, Yves, whenever you are ready, plug it in,' Ella said. I edged around to see over Ella's screen to see a split screen – one was a virtual image of Will's laptop, and the other had two black boxes on it – they were different windows, and both had some weird typing on. I knew it was code for something important.

'Ready?' Will said with a grin on his face.

'Remember when a black window comes up, pretend to close it down, just leave it, do whatever you would do normally.' Ella said and he nodded.

'Let's go online,' Will said smiling happily, lifting his screen up slightly. A few taps later, he looked up and grinned. The laptop didn't have a working microphone and webcam but we still would have to be incredibly quiet. There was a pad of paper to one side for any written notes.

I stood to one side for about twenty minutes, watching Will type at a normal pace, whilst Yves typed furiously and Ella did as well, before she opened up the screen getting into the system. She got what she needed, quickly reading it and writing down a series of dates, times, and locations before she gestured to Will and Yves. Will looked up at Ella and she nodded and he unplugged the laptop, Yves pressed the enter button whilst Ella unplugged the server. There was a look of jubilation across the entire group as Ella quickly took out something from Will's computer, snapped it in half easily before shoving it into a saucepan. She then looked at Yves, and the pan went up in smoke, burning down whatever she had snapped in half.

'You done it?' I asked her hopefully.

'Yup, got the date they plan to, you know, and some other dates too,' She said, but she was still sad. She didn't want Michael to get hurt despite the fact it was imminent.

'When is it?' I probed and everyone remained quiet.

'Sam, you know we can't tell you, even you said it was for the best,' Joe said ever so softly, walking back into the room. You could tell with that tone of voice he would talk Ella out of doing something stupidly impulsive, and talk Lily and Charlie to sleep. It worked on me, but I wanted to know.

'I changed my mind, I want to know,' I protested.

'Sam, you know we cannot tell you or Michael both for your own sake. We'll create a plan that will ensure Michael has the best chance...' Yves tried to explain to me.

'No, this is absolute bullshit! You are all just letting this happen, you're all just letting him get shot like it's no big deal,' I teared up, hugging myself. 'Like it won't affect us, any of us, and if you lot are just going to let him get injured I'll be the one to stop it so when is the God damn date?'

They all looked between each other; all wondering who the better spokesperson was to calm me down and Will shook his head at Ella.

'Fine, then, I'll find out on my own,' I snapped before I stormed out through the back door.

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I had managed to find my way to a bench overlooking the bottom of the ski lift – the bench was part of a picnic table but I didn't care how secluded or lonely I looked, I just needed some time. My head had become so overworked and I had become so drained that I couldn't focus properly anymore. I couldn't do anything without the help of the Benedict. I was a teacher for Goodness sake, not a master spy. I could explain to them how the brain works not how to stop my boyfriend from getting shot. This was their job; this is what they were trained to do. I put my hands together and rested my head on it. I should just sit by and let the professionals do their work whilst I... whilst I what? Sit here and do nothing? It seemed absurd.

I felt like one of the parents whose teenage daughter goes missing, and knows she should allow police to do their thing but can't help interfering. I felt like Rachel in "The Girl on the Train" – who gets involved in a police investigation because she can't just sit out. But... it was futile. I was torn between what to do. I wanted to help Michael, and I knew that meant just go along with whatever the FBI and whatever Maui tells me to do, but I didn't want to see Michael get hurt.

In my peripheral vision I saw someone climb over the bench next to me but they didn't say anything.

'What do you want?' I snapped.

'I wanted to see if you were okay,' Joe said softly. I looked up from my sulk to see him there in a wooly hat and a coat looking like a model. In his hands where two cups – and he pushed one over in my direction. 'Made you a tea,'

I took the cup gratefully, sipping it. The warmth filled my body. Sure enough, Joe had remembered how I liked my tea and made it perfectly with the skill of someone who makes tea for his wife in the morning every morning for the last handful of years.

'You're gunna talk me out of doing something stupid,' I said, looking up to the mountain. It looked absolutely stunning; the snow was become compact from the amount of skiers that had arrived. Everyone who was local had rocked up as well as some others, and the ski lift was busy with people boarding each cart. The queue for tickets was several meters long, and the two teenage boys on duty looked flustered. I knew it was the Benedict's business and the seven sons and Ella all worked here, but now had proper jobs, Saul hired kids he knew from the town to work the weekends, and I knew the high school finished early on Friday's, which would explain the two boys on the counter now. It had just turned half three, so most of the schools would be out and there would be an increase in kids soon. I caught looks from people in the queue over to Joe. From what I could gather, the Benedict's were the bad boys of the family, highly gossiped about. There had been some stories shared in banter in the plane about what they would do in their home town when they were younger. Ella had calmed right down since meeting Joe, and now everyone would gossip about Joe. It's not hard to see why – he was bloody gorgeous and should be working in a modelling agency for perfume or something. His brothers were incredibly good looking too. In the queue, I could hear the whispers about Ella whilst they were looking at Joe.

'No, I'm here to see if you were okay,' Joe protested. 'Talking you out of doing something stupid would be an added bonus,'

'If you saw Ella being shot what would you do?' I asked him and he took a long sip of tea, looking at the mountains. He swallowed it, pulled a slight face.

'Hard decision,' He said. 'I'd be stuck in the exact same dilemma you are in right now,'

'Which is?'

'Knowing I should let people who know what they are doing do their jobs, but also desperation to help. I knew Ella would get shot at some point, and I would want to protect her but I would know I couldn't, but I don't think I would give up. But I know people could shove precautions into place to help make sure the damage isn't life threatening or lasting,'

'I'm being irrational, aren't I?' I asked him and he shrugged.

'If you were being rational, that would be when I would think something was really wrong with you,' Joe told me and I thought about it. He had a very valid point.

'What do I do, Joe?' I whispered to him, suddenly feeling like he was the only person I could confine too in this situation. It was like he came my new best friend. Even though I could talk to Lucy, but she would be totally for the law enforcement side. Joe seemed to have the impartial look on everything which made this easy.

'I did speak to Ella, asked her what she would do and she agrees with your dilemma, so you're not alone,' Joe said softly. 'We know the date now, and they're already discussing the best attack. I've already taken a look at your dream and have got the rough map of who is involved and where, it's just preparing it. We know that you're down with Vick and Trace at the Saul and Karla's house before you run up and join us and from there it happens pretty quickly. I know you've had trust issues in the past, Sam, and you have them now but now is the time to learn to trust someone outside of Nic and Michael,' He looked over at me, his eyes melting. 'Believe me, it's hard. It took me ages to learn to trust Ella, but when the time mattered and we were flown down to Cornwall, I had to trust her and it was the right thing to do.'

'Who can I trust?'

'Start with me and Ella, we've done this kind of thing hundreds of times before, this is part of our job,'

'Hundreds?'

'Maybe only about forty, but still.'

'And how many people have died because your plans have failed,'

'None,' Joe looked at me and the sturdiness in his voice made me believe him a hundred percent. He knew what he was doing. 'We know what we are doing; do you trust us to look out for Michael, you and Nic?'

I took another sip of my tea and I nodded.

'Yeah, I guess I do,'

'I'll take that uncertainty,' Joe mocked, 'I know it's hard, but you need to look after yourself over this period of time, you need to remember to eat, take care of yourself, make sure you have a shower every day too and have regular drinks, perhaps go for a walk every day. Play with Nic, don't take anything for granted. Make sure you sleep too. Try and keep your stress levels down, because when the time comes we'll need you more than ever and you'll have to be awake and alert,' Joe told me and I nodded. 'Promise me you'll look after yourself?'

'You live next door to me, I don't think I can get away with not looking after myself,' I muttered and Joe smiled.

'Yeah, I'm always watching you and the second I don't see you coping, I'll be onto you,' He said.

'This will be tough, won't it?' I asked him seriously and he nodded.

'This will be one of the toughest things you'll go through, and you'll never forget the pain of it,' He looked down at the polystyrene cup in his hand, picking away at it slightly. He was clearly remembering the aftermath of the terrorist diversion in Cornwall, where he had mild injuries and Ella's heart stopped four times and was in a grave critical condition. She was so ill doctors told Joe to brace for the worse – and if she survived it would be a miracle, let alone the baby. Of course, both her and baby Lily were absolutely fine with time, but it must have been terrifying for Joe to go through. He cleared his throat. 'You'll want to go back and change it, but everything happens for a reason, and you just have to trust that this will all work out, believe me. Ella and Michael are both fighters, they won't let a few bullets or an explosion get in their way,'

I smiled slightly.

'Come on, let's get you back and warmed up. You're _so_ not dressed for the snow this time around,' Joe said softly, gently putting his arm around my shoulders. Of course, there was nothing there but he was Michael's brother in law, and it meant he was like my brother too. And in a way, I could see it. He was the brother I would go to for advice if we were in a family, and he was very caring, paternal and protective. I could see why Ella fell for him as quick as she did.

'Why are you hugging me?' I asked him, hugging myself for warmth.

'Two reasons; firstly my wife literally turns from being fine to freezing in a second and I'm so used to that behaviour it's instinct now, but secondly you have a profanity for wandering off.'

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 **Hello!**

 **I very nearly just uploaded chapter 50 rather than this one which is when everything kicks off again. That would have been awkward. Slight task for you guys though, I have an assignment due in within the month which I haven't actually started nor know the ideas to do with it and it will take me ages so I might have to put this slightly behind, but I basically need masses of motivation to do this, and logically I have enough time to keep writing chapters for this as well as do my assignment and just basically I don't actually know what I'm asking but just do something to keep me motivated please because it does start kicking off again soon I promise and we are coming to an end!**

 **Also, I have thought about what people suggested about the book after this and I kinda have been toying with the idea about Lily and Nic growing up but I dunno because they're like my babies.**


	45. Chapter 44 - Michael

**Chapter 44 – Michael**

 **The next day**

Last night, Sam wasn't her normal self and I caught myself wondering what her normal self was, and if she would ever return to that state. The issue was the "normal" Sam was the one I used to live with before all of this happened, the slightly stressed but gentle, caring Sam who used to curl up to me at any given point and loved being outdoors. Now, she kept a wary eye on both myself and Nic and kept away from like, like if she stayed by my side for too long she might melt. Did this whole situation of events actually change her? Would she never be that happy and free again? She had seen the tainted side of the Savant community; and I didn't want to hurt her any further but it gets a lot worse than what she witnessed. I wouldn't be the person to tell her, though. But what if she never adapted to that life and she remained this way forever? It was stressful for us both.

I had to give her some slack though. Joe took me aside yesterday before I had even made it up the hill to tell me that Sam was barely coping, and he had spoken to her several times privately trying to calm her down and speak rational sense into her but he wasn't entirely sure if it had worked. Joe was just as concerned as I was. I blamed Ella for that. I didn't live with Ella anymore, but I knew what she was like. She barely makes sense at times. Ella is stupidly smart and can join dots up together, but when she tries to explain the event she drew (so to speak) it didn't make any sense. It took a lot to get her to speak rationally, and Joe had just about mastered that effect.

I had taken up the role of chef again, and Sam was sitting beside Nic at the table, making her read her school books. Both Ella and I decided not to enrol Lily and Nic into the Kindergarten here as we were only to be over here for a month or so, whenever I got shot would really mark the end of our impromptu holiday, but we still had to make sure the girls did schoolwork. Of course, being four meant you only did things like simple books and writing the alphabet correctly and in the correct shapes, but Sam being a teacher helped dramatically and I had lost her the entirety of the yesterday and the few hours this morning as she was teaching Nic some stuff, but I couldn't help but watch them. I had sat opposite them, reading and finalising statements from both Chris and Cameron. They were allowed to keep adding event from their statements and both of them ended up at around 40,000 words explaining what they remember from Kingdom, what it meant and events that had happened there that they think would help us. It wasn't easy reading finding out how your older brothers were locked away in a massive tower and forced to work against their will but I had to do it anyway.

Slowly, I accepted they were my brothers and they were now included in my family. It wasn't easy for me but it most definitely wasn't easy for them either, and they just wanted that back. After everything that had done for my family I could barely deny that. I read in detail Chris' account of how he looked after Nic as a baby in the three weeks between Brooklyn giving her up and her being handed to Sam. He described how he used to hold her for hours on end trying to get her to stop crying, and when he did it was only long enough to clean up the mess he had made trying to calm her down to start with. He describe how she got critically ill from what he could only assume the damp, mouldy conditions of the rooms she was kept in with Brooklyn and how he smuggled medicines to keep her healthy. I could only imagine what it was like to have a few week old baby ill and how much effort that must have been. Cameron described how he helped get Lucy out of Kingdom. Both of them had done so much, the least we could do was invite them to the firework display tonight.

Of course, it was November 5th – bonfire night in the UK. But American's had embraced the tradition (anything that called for a party went) with Saul and Karla setting up a firework show in the car park of the ski lodge with the entire town expected to turn up. There was a small fee; with the money proceeded going straight towards Cameron and Chris and helping them get on their feet when we ended up back in England. Saul had gone to train them at the white water centre and I think both of them enjoyed having a job that wasn't dark and twisted like their time in Kingdom. It gave them something to do. I checked the clock in the kitchen – they were due around here in about an hour and a half. Lucy was coming us, and it's still not clear is Jason will come with Tyler. He's not a fan of loud noises, and Lucy isn't sure she can hold a sound barrier around him the entire time. Ella and Joe were coming, kids in tow, as well, so it looked to be a good night.

'Michael,' I heard Sam say behind me and I turned around. Both Sam and Nic were staring at me.

'You alright?' I asked her and she nodded tentatively.

'Yeah, I called you like five times – are you alright?' She asked me and I nodded.

'I was just thinking,' I told her guardedly and she agreed – not that she believed me really, but she didn't want to bring it up in front of Nic. Even though Nic was there – and so was Lily and Tyler. These kids watched me get shot – they were just kids! Nic was standing right behind me. I didn't want her to see that or Lily to watch that either. But everyone kept emphasising we couldn't change anything that would harm me. At least this way, I'll be safe but I didn't want my four year old daughter to see me get shot. I don't think she'd ever recover mentally.

'Do you want to sit down?' Sam said softly and I nodded. I slid into the settee on the wall next to Sam. She looked up at me, big gleaming eyes, before leaning into me. She was about to say something when there was a sharp knock at the door. I sighed, sliding out the chair to get up. I could see the black outline of someone at the door and Nic looked up at me excitedly.

'Can I get it?' She asked and I hesitated – there would be no reason for her not to get the post, as that was the only logical explanation - but I was still scared. The whole I'm-going-to-get-shot thing was starting to make me paranoid, but Ella had told me they had a fully functioning plan and had run through it time after time and it worked perfectly, but still. I was scared. But I couldn't let my fears cramp Nic's childhood, because as Ella pointed out I could get shot now or within a year's time, as Sam's gift had no time restriction we knew. She had a dream about Nic a few years before that happened and she wasn't going to get pregnant and time soon, so I could get shot within a few years. The only thing that showed it would be in the next few months was how small Tyler was. He was still a baby apparently. Sam had also said Nic hadn't changed at all in her dream.

'Of course,' I said and Nic got up from her chair, running to the front door. She could just about reach the door handle of the already unlocked door.

'We're talking later,' Sam said.

'About what?'

'About you, Michael, stop pretending you're fine. It's driving me insane,'

'Well this isn't exactly easy for either of us, Sam,' I muttered back.

'I know it's not, but you're acting like a zombie. Nic told me it was scaring her,' Sam told me softly – it wasn't a dig as such but it was just her telling me the truth. I sighed.

'Daddy – no one is here,' Nic said from the door and I frowned. But there was a knock. There was someone there.

'Probably missed him,' Sam said shrugging. But it didn't feel right. I jogged to the door, pushing Nic back in slightly. I stood outside, looking around, and sure enough there was no one around. I probed the area for any signs of any thought patterns and apart from everyone in the two houses either side of me, which included my sister and her family, and Sam's sister and her family and my two brothers, there was no one. But I had seen someone there, so someone around. It must have been someone I know, then.

 _Ella, did you knock at my door?_ I asked hesitantly.

 _Nope, why?_ She replied back immediately.

 _Lucy, did anyone from yours knock?_ I added Lucy into mine and Ella's conversation.

 _No, we've been inside. Is everything okay?_ She replied back sweetly.

 _Someone just knocked – I saw them through the door – and now they're not here._ I said, scanning the environment. There were no extra cars; no vans parked away, no thoughts.

 _Michael, get back inside._ Lucy told me deadly serious. _Someone is shielding around you, someone from Kingdom. Ella – get Vick and everyone down here now._ Lucy flew into action. _Michael. Inside. Now. Away from the windows, go upstairs into Nic's bedroom and sit by the wall. Close and lock the door. Pretend nothing us up._

 _Everyone is on their way down now. Lucy, same applies for us. Stay away from the windows, lock all doors. Do everything telekinetically. I'll project and see if I can find them._

Trying not to panic, I turned around and shrugged.

'Guessing we missed the postman then, Nic,' I said loudly, scooping her up and kicking the door closed quickly.

 _Sam, get here._ I told her in a panic and heard her splutter about the tone I used. I grabbed the key for the door, locking it with trembling hands before bolting it shut. Like Lucy advised, I telekinetically closed all curtains and blinds at the same time, locking all doors.

'What?' Sam asked me.

'Sam, here, now, please,' I tried to remain calm but she stood in the doorway angrily. Now is not the time for the attitude, I thought to her, but never conveyed the message. Lucy must have filled in her promptly as she suddenly ran to my side. 'Thank you,'

'Daddy, what's going on?' Nic said.

'We're just going to sit in your bedroom for a while.' I said to her softly, gesturing for Sam to take Nic. Both of them walked up the stairs, me following them. We got to the top of the stairs, and I had just got around the corner again when I heard the knocking on the front door again. Sam turned around and looked at me in panic and I gently put my finger to her lips. She nodded, moving to take my hand.

I could just about see the black figure or someone knocking on the door.

 _He's back._ I told the girls.

 _I'm watching him like a hawk._ Ella added. _You're safe, yeah?_

 _We're where you told us to go,_ I confirmed back.

 _I'm shielding all of us, Chris has confirmed it's someone from Kingdom but he believes it's a foot runner, to keep us on our toes. Chris believes that they don't know we know their plan but this is rather to terrify us. Whatever you do, don't answer the door and invite them in for a cuppa._

I gently guided Sam into Nic bedroom, showing her where to sit away from the window – the wall next to the window was a good place. Nic's room only had one window facing the front of the house and a nice size wall next to it where her bed was. So if they shot through the window, it wouldn't hit us. Sam placed Nic on the bed before crawling up to sit against the wall. Nic joined her, hugging her tight. Finally, I joined them too, picking Nic up to hold her on my lap and pulling Sam in.

 _Benedict's are surrounding the house, Ella, still got visuals?_ Lucy said in my head and I gently linked Sam into the conversation so she too would know what was happening at a given point. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and I very gently kissed her as she squeezed her eyes shut and rested them against my head.

 _He's still there – how long until they're ready to take them down?_

 _Another couple of minutes,_ Lucy said, _Vick is the last one to come down. Everyone else is in place and loaded._ Guns – she meant guns.

 _Okay, I don't know how long he will stay there for, though, if he gets ready to leave would they be ready to fly the nest and catch him? I don't believe there are any others. There are no cars in the area that has been used recently – there's a car that I don't recognise on Fifth Street a few rows up from us. It's empty, so if it's his he came alone._ Ella advised us.

'Michael,' someone sung on the other side of the door. 'I know you're in there – I have mail you for,' I hugged Nic even tighter, covering her ears as she cringed into my chest scared. I was putting my daughter through the pain and angst of this. This isn't how a four year old should grow up, within constant fear. 'You don't want to come and say hi?'

 _Don't answer._

 _I'm not stupid._ I replied to Ella.

I heard the letterbox slot on the door open, and a very soft thud as something fell on the floor.

 _What's that?_ I asked.

 _A letter, I'm checking it out now._

 _Any explosives?_

 _No, it's just some cheap printer paper in an envelope from a gas station. Don't touch it._

I nodded. It was evidence that this was happening.

The whole event continued for ten or so minutes, with Nic cringing against my chest, Sam leaning into me terrified, and me trying to calm both of them down when completely freaked out myself. The knocking continued, and the man on the other side of the door kept telling me to come and read the mail, the letter was addressed to me, and so on. I was close to losing it when I heard the screams outside from someone shouting they were the police and Vick shouting he was from the FBI, before telling Ella to "queue him" which was code for Ella to freeze his spinal cord liquid so he passed out. It was another fifteen minutes before the front door opened.

'Michael, Sam, Nic, you are all okay?' Cameron called, running straight up the stairs.

Nic started to sob in my chest and Sam was shaking, the emotional release of the ordeal finally hitting them when their bodies came out of flight or fight. Cameron came around the corner in a hoody and a pair of jeans.

'Er, Vick wants to speak to you in the car, get your statement ASAP,' Cameron said to me and I nodded, before looking at the girls. 'I will make sure they're okay until you're back,' He smiled softly. 'That's what families are for, right?' He came over to me, gesturing to hold Nic. I smiled, handing her over to him. Nic immediately clung to him as Sam curled up into a ball.

'I'll be back in a second, okay sweetheart?' I muttered to Sam but she didn't hear.

'Lucy will be coming up any second to see her,' Cameron said. I didn't want to leave either of them but I didn't really have a choice.

'Thanks, Cameron,' I said, walking out the room.

'Anytime, bro,' he said softly and I heard him move across the room to consolidate Sam too. I jogged down the stairs, leaving my own house with the door wide open, to see a man stone cold in a police car. In the street now was about six different cars; four marked police from the office in the town, two unmarked. All of the Benedict's were wondering around, talking to each other of people, and the flashing lights reflected off the white press snow. I wondered over to where I found Vick, talking to Trace.

'So, what the Hell is going on?' I asked and Vick looked at me.

'No idea, mate, no idea. I'll take your statement in the car, it's bloody freezing,' He said, rubbing his hands together. 'I'll quickly go talk to Sam, though, you can get in, I won't be a moment,' he said and Trace wandered off to speak to Will and I got in the back seat of his car, thankful for the warmth.

I edged over to the far side, and I got as far as the middle seat before hearing a crunch of a plastic bag. Frowning, I pulled out an evidence bag from under my arse, where it was on the middle seat. Inside was the letter he placed through the door; the envelope was tucked behind the letter, and the letter was unfolded. The text had been made out of newspaper clippings of titles like good old fashion crime programmes but it was the sentences that were harrowing.

 _Remember, remember,_

 _The fifth of November,_

 _Gunpowder, treason and a plot._

 _But alight, alight,_

 _The sixth of the night,_

 _Murder runs cold on Executioner's Site._

 _Praise, Praise,_

 _The seventh day in a haze,_

 _The fall of one in a loveless daze._

 _Rejoice, Rejoice,_

 _It was all their choice,_

 _As Saint Michael lies with no more life._


	46. Chapter 45 - Michael

**Chapter 45 – Michael**

I knocked on Ella's front door for what felt like the eighth time, as she refused to answer me. The case of the man who posted the letter through my door was handed straight over to the FBI, along with the letter that everyone assumed I didn't see. But I did, and it took more than a few moments for it to settle. Was it referring to me getting shot _tomorrow?_ I'm sure it couldn't – no one was stressed enough. I had hoped I meant enough to my girlfriend and my sister and extended family that they would start getting freaked out a few days before my inevitable assassination (or, attempted assassination hopefully) but everyone was pretty calm. Ella happily returned back to her house after Vick said we were good to return to normal, and when I went back into my house Sam had taken over the cooking, binning our burnt-to-as-crisp lunch and starting open.

But the letter kept running through my head; remember the fifth of November, and Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot to blow up the houses of parliament, the "sixth of the night" where "murder runs cold on Executioner's Site,". That was the line that got me, the sixth of the night clearly referred to the time of day, and murder run cold means me getting shot. But what is "Executioner's Site" because it was either the man who wrote this letter can't spell, or rhyme in full, or it referred to a place and not a vision. Because "Executioner Sight," would be the man who was to become my "murderer" vision, but "Site" was a place.

And the praise of the seventh day, and the fall of one. That would be my fall, then. And the rejoice of my death. I frowned – my old English teacher would have loved to study this poem – the ambiguality of the language was divine.

Knocking again, I sighed. I knew Ella was in the house. Just as I was about to give up, I heard someone run down the stairs.

Ella opened the door in a thin vest top and a pair of Joe's boxer shorts and I immediately frowned at her.

'What took you so long?' I hissed at her.

'The kids are sleeping, you know,' She hissed back at me, rubbing her arms slightly but stood in the doorway like she didn't really want to let me in. 'And, slightly hesitant to open the door without any prior warning from what happened earlier?'

'Why were you upstairs?' I asked her.

'I was putting the kids to sleep,'

'Lily?' I asked.

'Naptime – she's struggling with jet lag,' Ella lied fluently, pulling her strap back onto her shoulder and running her hand through the hair. I knew she was lying – although Lily normally gets excited and runs to the door whenever she hears me so I guess she must be asleep. But it's odd for Ella and Joe both to be putting the kids to bed at the same time. Also, Charlie chooses when he goes to sleep – not Ella and Joe. He was still a baby. I frowned at her.

'What about Joe then?'

'Settling back down Charlie. He started to grizzle because a rude bastard kept knocking on the door.' Ella said.

'Can I come in?' I asked her, wondering why she was still standing on the threshold of the doorway rather than letting me in the second she sees it's me like she normally does. I frowned again, adding everything together – Ella and Joe both upstairs together and weren't answer the door, and then Ella comes down in Joe's boxer shorts and a thin vest top – not Colorado winter time clothing – and was being all defensive. I wrinkled my nose.

'You better not –' I said, walking in and Ella grinned before frowning.

'You're nasty, the kids are around,' She said before closing the door. 'Joe, if he's still awake bring him back down,' She said slightly louder – but nowhere near shouting – up the stairs. I heard movement in the bedrooms before I went and sat down in the living room. 'What do you want?'

'Remember, Remember, the fifth of November,' I said to her and she showed no signs of understanding what I was referring too.

'Yeah, its bonfire night, we're all going to the firework show?' Ella asked.

'Alight, alight, the sixth of the night.'

'Ah,' Ella said.

'I'm getting shot tomorrow,' I added.

'Nope,'

'No, I am,'

'Nope, you're not,' Ella protested.

'Ella,'

'Michael, honestly, you're not,'

'They didn't just write that to practise their poetry, Els,' I told her angrily and she frowned before shrugging.

'Guessing they must have, maybe they're an inspiring poet and like making newspaper collages in their spare time,' Ella joked around. I went to snap at her before Joe came downstairs, holding Charlie to his chest. Joe was just in a pair of jogging bottoms, with a cloth over his shoulder and a very docile child in his arms, half asleep. I had thought they might be doing something naughty, but on closer looks it was clear they were just trying to put down their children for their naptimes. Joe frowned at the atmosphere in the room, moving Charlie in his arms as if to shield him from it. I sighed. Joe looked over at Ella, and Ella gave him a very quick look and Joe nodded almost imperceptivity.

'This one time, you just have to trust us and the system,' Joe said, bouncing Charlie around gently to get him to drift off to sleep.

'Fuck the system,' I mumbled.

'Oi,' Ella snapped. 'Don't swear in front of the kids,'

'How can I trust this so called system when you're blatantly lying to me – I know what I saw, Els, you can't falsify that or have that down to a Kingdom Soldier's love of newspaper collages,' I said, bunching my hands into a fist and walking over to the table and leaning down. I tried to breathe deeply but there was a heavy, sinking feeling in my chest. I couldn't go through with this. I couldn't pretend I was okay anymore. I couldn't stand around watching Sam tear herself to shreds over the pure anxiety this has caused her. And Nic? I couldn't do that to her either. She is just an innocent kid and she has been through too much because of me. _Too much._ I heard gentle mumbling behind me, and a few seconds later someone walked out the room closing the door and heading back upstairs.

'Private lecture?' I sneered.

'Perhaps,' It wasn't Ella's voice as I anticipated, but rather Joe's. I turned around and he was standing in the middle of the room, arms by his side.

'If this was the other way around, and Ella had seen you get shot, what would you do?' I asked him and he sighed.

'I would be doing exactly what you are doing, but there would be some kind of indefinite fear over my head. Sometimes I would be terrified and other times I wouldn't care. It's kind of how you accept it will happen – when you get to a point when you're like "well, it's going to happen so what is the point of worrying" it's like a dead sea, it's calm. It's like before you're going into an exam and you've done your last minute cramming and you're confident – you can't change anything so what is the point worrying? That is where you should be,'

'You're telling me not to worry about Sam and Nic?' I asked.

'In a way, yeah,'

'Dude –'

'Hear me out,' Joe interrupted me and I raised an eyebrow at him. 'When Ella was... you know,' He gestured in the air and I knew he meant when she was in hospital after major life changing surgery after the spoilt terrorist attack when a security blast hit her and nearly killed her – well, it did stop her heart four times but she came back more, well, Ella than normal – Joe had sat by her side 'I had you being an absolute arsehole to me the entire time, I had my parents calling me every ten seconds, I had all of Ella's brothers to deal with, the sisters, her parents. I had to go through interviews, paperwork, filing medical paperwork for her. I had to sit through countless doctor's meetings hearing that Ella might lose the baby, and its touch and go for her, or Ella might not be able to walk again, that she might be paralysed, or quadriplegic. I heard she might lose her legs. Everything under the book, I heard. I had to deal with all of that alone because no one believes me, and there was no plan,' I looked over at him feeling like a moron. I didn't realise how much Joe had gone through – he had never told me any of this and I don't think he had even told Ella half of it either. 'She was so close to losing Lily, the doctors didn't even want to _consider_ Lily in the medical procedures as the chances of her survival was minimal.' He took a deep staggered breath. 'But there was no plan set in place because how could there be? And it was the worst thing I had ever gone through. However, the plan for you, Nic and Sam is so detailed everything is completely covered. We have people who will stay with Sam the entire time, Ella will be with Nic if she wants to go home, there's a room big enough for you three waiting in the place we'll take you, there's people to fill in paperwork, the medical consultations will go through not only Jason but Xav as well as he's practically a doctor now, everything is filed down to a T to make sure Sam and Nic will be perfectly okay. It won't stop them hurting, yes, but it will ease their way. However, all of this will only be able to happen if you let the events that will unfold happen. If you start dicking around with them the entire plan is thrown out the window. You understand?'

I looked up at him. Joe was something on a man giant. He was around six foot four – the tallest of his family and had a few inches on me. He was well built as well, from doing more physical work than me at Maui, but there was a grace to him. I knew he did gymnastics for years when he was a teenager and I put it down to that. But the gentle nature he had adopted was clearly from my sister, and then was applied to the kids.

'So yes, it will happen. We just need you to act like it's a normal day, it won't happen until night anyway, so just act normal. But whatever happens follows your natural gut instinct, and don't do anything rash and impulsive until we are all around you, got it?'

'Why doesn't anyone tell me it's going to happen then?' I asked him.

'Because when you find out you might potentially die you tend to act a bit _funny_ ,' Joe said, 'Everyone wanted to keep it under wraps from both you and Sam, you so you don't do something stupid that would jeopardize the plan – something along the lines of not talking to Nic at all tomorrow, or trying to cut Sam out as well, and we didn't want to tell Sam because it would weight down on her too much.'

'You've been through what Sam's been through; could you do it again with Lily around?' I asked him and he pulled a face.

'I couldn't do it again,' Joe said in all honesty.

'But first time around – could you have done it with Lily there?'

'Half the issues evolved around the baby so –'

'Joe!' I yelled at him but he didn't jump, just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms - like he would do when Lily was throwing a tantrum for not having ice cream before her dinner. He was just watching me like I was a kid. I took a deep breath. 'Will Sam and Nic be okay?'

'I told you, they'll be fine. If you play ignorance, they will be fine. If you be a smartarse dick like you are ninety seven percent of the time, and you change the events leading up to that moment, we cannot guarantee our plan will work and we can't guarantee their safety to the same degree,' Joe lectured.

'So I'm just going to let his happen, just play an ignorant fool,'

'You don't need to play an ignorant fool; you already are one, just emphasise your degree of ignorant fool. You're not trying hard enough if they do not believe you. They know you're smart, they'll know you'll kick off, so by all means kick off and try and stop it but let them lead you, chances are they'll threaten Nic, just get to the forest whatever you do. We'll be behind you, ready to fly,' Joe said, pausing as he heard someone walk down the stairs.

'It will kill you, not literally but metaphorically, and it would tear them apart too, however, you'll both be safe in the long term, it might take a while to get back to normal, but I know you're more worried about the girls than you are yourself – they're perfectly safe, we will keep them safe.' Joe said to me and I believed him fully. He would look after Sam like they were brother and sister, he would bring her cups of tea and sit with her and talk to her. So would Ella, Ella would sit there and tell her time and time again that I'll be fine, she'll bring Nic home with her and make sure she sleeps. She would gently talk to Nic in the mother way she does with Lily, she'll look after Nic.

'Still sulking?' Ella said, walking into the room again, Charlie now absent – most likely asleep in his travel cot upstairs.

'You didn't give into him, did you?' Ella asked him and Joe frowned, pulling her over for a hug. He gently helps her before shaking his head.

'Of course I didn't, he's still insisting about the poem,'

'It barely rhymed, can never trust then,' Ella smiled happily at him and he bent down to kiss her. He lied to his wife. I couldn't help but look at him with a slight air of distrust – he lied to his wife. He never does that, there is no secret between them. He lied to his wife! Was he lying to me?

'I'm going to go,' I sighed.

'Bye then,' Ella said as Joe put his arm around her, lifting her shirt up slightly to straighten the hem of her bottoms – somewhat of an obsessive behaviour he had got himself doing. Since one of the operations they had done on Ella since the terrorist attacks but after she had Lily led to complications. Ella refused to have any surgery that would even potentially harm Lily, so she had them a few months after she had the baby but whilst it removed more of the shrapnel and the dodgy grafts on her legs – it made it look more uniform and more like a normal scar than haphazard lines the previous surgeons left (however, they only done it to save her life) it meant she lost nerve feelings in some areas and one was her left hip area, so any material there she couldn't feel so Joe always straightened the material for her. Neither of them even noticed they were doing it.

I looked at Ella again – if I was getting shot tomorrow she was incredibly chilled about it. I knew what she was like, she was on edge days before the final of the Great British Bake Off, so I hope when it came to me potentially dying tomorrow I hoped she would show some emotion but nothing. But then I was left with a potentially critical question – who do I trust more? My sister or her husband? I know Ella is an incredibly good liar but her emotions get the better of her. However, Joe is a very bad liar and tells the truth but would never do anything to harm Ella.

'You just don't care, do you?' I snapped at Ella and she frowned.

'We're seeing you in literally,' She leaned back to see the clock on the wall better, 'two hours to see the fireworks,'

Does she have no idea? It crossed my mind that Joe might be lying to Ella too to try and keep her safe. I would love to think that Ella would care that I may or may not die tomorrow but at the moment she had no emotions towards it. It just doesn't make any sense.

None of this makes any sense.

'Alright,' I said, walking out the front door leaving the blissfully happy couple to continue being blissfully happy. However, I couldn't return home. My mind was going a thousand miles an hour, rolling down hills and sprinting up the mountains that loom in the distance. I walked into town instead, not dressed for the weather but finding the snows biting coldness a relief. It made my fears feel pure.

These were the facts; I have a Soulfinder, who I love to pieces, and I would protect at any cost, and I have a daughter who I love to pieces and would also protect at any cost. I have an extended family who means the world to me, a job I love, and a handful of good friends. I can't say I have had a shitty life – sure, it's not book perfect however I wouldn't be here without any of the things that have happened in the past. I have cousins, uncles and aunts that bend over backwards to try and help and that was why I was in Colorado to start with. My Soulfinder can manipulate emotions and see the future – she's seen us having our own child together. She's also seen me getting shot. My sister is an Oscar-worthy liar, my brother in law is such a bad liar that his baby can lie better than him. But one of those two was lying to me, and I was unsure which one.

Logic would dictate it was Ella lying, but I know what her emotional overlay is like. She cries at Christmas adverts, she binge watches shitty TV series. She stays up late by herself to watch sad documentaries. She cries when a pigeon falls off a tree – she would be a mess if she knew her brother would get shot tomorrow. I know that for a fact. But then that would mean Joe was lying – and why would he bother lying?

'You don't stop thinking, it's painful,' I heard someone say behind me and didn't even turn around.

'Hey, Sky,'

'Well, okay then,'

'Crystal,' I said, addressing the two girls who had ended up both sides of me. They were in hats and scarves, drinking coffee from takeaway cups. They continued to walk with me.

'Trying to work out who is lying?' Sky asked and I nodded.

'Not having much luck then? That's why you came to find us,' Crystal said smugly.

'I didn't come to find you, I went for a walk and you two just... appeared,' I replied back and they both laughed slightly, causing a cloud of their own breath.

'Well, either Ella or Joe lied,' Sky said, 'Or perhaps, both of them didn't lie. Or perhaps both of them did,'

'How can both of them be lying?' I asked.

'Good question, I don't know. I just wanted to sound smart,' Sky said and I rolled my eyes.

'What is your gut saying?'

'Don't get shot,' I replied to Crystal's question and she smirked.

'Think of yourself as blessed,' She retorted and I looked at her like she announced she was moving to Nepal to raise mountain goats for a living. 'No, no one else ever gets pre-warning they're going to get shot, no one has times to throw in plans.'

'I guess,'

'No, you know. You know no one else gets this forewarning. You've only had a day to stew on it, yes, however in that day everyone has set up extensive plans to make sure your sweet arse is as safe as it can me, and that your fiancé and your daughter is safe,' Crystal said.

'They're not engaged,' Sky pointed out.

'Really?'

'Really,' Sky replied.

'Oh, well, everyone is engaged recently. It's hard to work out who is and who isn't. Back to my point, even if you die there are plans for that, and even if you put a hat trick and don't get shot there are plans for that. So, yes, think of yourself as honoured for this warning.' Crystal said.

'You said there are plans for if I die,'

'Yeah, that wasn't fun planning,' Crystal joked and I stared at her.

'You're pissing him off,' Sky said from behind me.

'Mentioning his childhood cat can piss him off, it doesn't take much,' Crystal added and I frowned. 'See, really doesn't like the incident of the childhood cat,'

'Crystal, he has enough to deal with,' Sky added sweetly from behind me.

'Yet here he is, standing around with us playing good cop, bad cop,' Crystal said squaring up to me. 'Last day of freedom and here you are, not with your family. Well, not with your immediate family.' Crystal said.

'Crys –'

'This is my last day?'

'We know Joe told you, Michael, we know you know it's happening tomorrow and after hearing that news, here you are wandering the streets and not spending the last few hours before you get shot down with your girlfriend and your toddler daughter even _after_ you get told we have plans for your death,' Crystal said. 'That either makes you cocky and arrogant or... inhumane? Uncaring perhaps?'

'We know Michael are the first two – but we assumed he would have a heart,' Sky told Crystal and I turned around. Sky was standing behind me in a thin summer shirt with her hair in a braid across her left shoulder and a pair of jeans. She stood crossed arms but not in a way to preserve heat, but in a way to show emotion. But it was freezing – it was just about snowing. She would be freezing.

She _would_ be freezing.

This wasn't real.

I jumped awake lying on the sofa in the lounge, looking around. Nothing had changed; the time was just after twenty five minutes past four in the evening, the room was getting slightly dark as the sun had started to set and the dark clouds from the snow had made dusk come earlier. One of the curtains were drawn, the other still open showing the fresh blanket of crisp snow outside, covering the tracks of the police cars and other vehicles from this morning events, and masking the footprints of the man they had arrested. I stretched out slightly; knowing the dormant feeling in my muscles meant I had been asleep for ages. So – did that never happen? Did Crystal and Sky never talk to me – did I never speak to Ella and Joe?

'Mummy, Daddy is awake!' I heard Nic called and I looked around. She was sitting on the floor next to my head, a colouring book on her lap but the pencils on the floor from when she turned around to look at me. I gently ruffled her hair.

'Hey, kiddo,' I said to her and she smiled at me. 'How long have I been asleep?'

'A few hours, Mummy said she misses you,' Nic told me sweetly.

'Where is Mummy?' I asked.

'She's said she was going to be upstairs, I think she's sad,' Nic whispered to me.

'I'll go and find her, stay down there for a second already pumpkin?' I told her, standing up at the same time as picking her up, spinning her around and kissing her on the cheek. She sloppily kissed me back.

'I love you, Daddy,' she said, hugging me around the neck as I put her back down again.

'I love you too; just give me a moment,' I said as she sat down where I was just lying moments previous. I bent down and picked up her bunny from the floor giving it to her as she smiled, hugging the toy tight to her chest. I turned around and opened the door to the living room, before quietly walking up the stairs, and around the corner.

The door to our bedroom was closed, and I heard snivelling. I opened the door quietly, but it ended up creaking.

'I'm fine Nic, don't worry,' Sam said softly, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She was sitting on the end of the bed facing out the window, a box of tissues behind her. She had changed her clothes from earlier; she was in a pair of leggings, a baggy shirt and a zip through hoody I had given her from Maui – it was one of my old ones which were "thrown out" once it reached three months. She liked wearing it though. It had "Evans" on the back – they used surnames to identify us in the field of work even though we all speak to each other with first names.

'I don't think you are,' I muttered softly.

'Michael,' She said softly, knocking the box of tissues off the bed and wiping under her eyes with the hem of the hoody. 'When did you wake up?' She asked me softly as I walked into the room, closing the door behind me. She got up, turned around and pulled the sleeve awkwardly. Her face was red and blotchy from crying for a substantial period of time. I walked straight over to her, pulling her straight into my chest.

'Why are you crying?'

'This can't happen Michael, I don't want this to happen, I can't handle it,' She said into my chest, her arms around me.

'Don't worry, I've spoken to Joe about it,'

'When? When did you speak to Joe about it?' She asked.

'Just now?'

'You've been asleep since the letter and the man, Michael, you just collapsed on the settee when you came back in.' Sam whispered to me. So – none of that happened? But it was so real?

'They've got plans,' I told her.

'Yes, but it's not going to help Michael. You're still going to get...' She didn't finish her sentence as she had to swallow her tears. 'Because of me, this is going to happen,'

'Not because of you, this would have happened anyway,' I sighed hugging her. 'But at least I have you,'

'I don't want it to happen,'

'You've mentioned like a hundred times, and I don't want it either. However, we should just enjoy the time together we have before this happens, okay? Spend time together not worrying about anything and with Nic – she's just come home from a hell of an ordeal to come to this, for her sake more than our own, let's just forget it over the next few days and take her to the fireworks, take her skiing. Try and help her recover without worrying about me,' I said, kissing her forehead as she stopped snivelling again.

'Okay,' Sam whispered.

'Ella used to always say how good this restaurant was up the road, how about we all go there for dinner before the fireworks, yeah?' I said to her softly, rubbing her back and she nodded. 'Do you want to go and tell her?'

'Sorry,' Sam whispered, wiping her eyes again. I gently kissed her.

'Don't be sorry, hun, it's okay,' I muttered back. 'We'll talk about it all tonight, properly this time, we'll sort out our own plans, but when Nic is around, we pretend nothing is wrong,' I told Sam again and she nodded before kissing me back.

'I'll go get her some warm clothes for tonight,' I kissed Sam one last time as she nodded, 'You should dress warm too, it's bloody freezing out there,'

I left the room again, closing the door and taking a moment. Knowing I was going to get shot was emotionally draining for everyone involved; Sam was blaming it on herself, even Nic seemed to be down and she doesn't know too much about it. And me? I was trying not to think about it but it was a very potent thought. It was like female friends when one of them gets a new partner that's all they talk about. Or when someone has a baby, that is all they ever talk about. Now I'm getting shot, that is what everyone cares about. And It was winding me up at the same time as pulling me down. I wanted to normal, for everything to be normal again but here I was still bringing it up. I was the worst culprit for the behaviour I hate. I tell people not to mention it but my life revolved around it.

Deep down, I knew I wasn't anything exciting. In the end, we're all humans; we are all made out of the same four things that our DNA is coded off. We're all the same, so why would I expect my behaviour to be different from that of Sam's, or that of Nic's? Nic perhaps because she was just a child, but if my brain kept running circles around a certain event, I can't tell Sam to stop making hers run around the same thing can I? It was hypocritical.

I did need to speak to Joe about it – he was probably the most rational, reasonable person I know. He would at least be able to reassure me like he did in my dream. Why did I dream about talking to Joe?

I opened the door to Nic's room to immediately stop on the runner of the doorframe. Nic's room was the same, nothing had changed. Duvet was wrinkled from the events earlier in the day, the curtains were still drawn. However, on the window was red dripping liquid – possibly paint or fake blood;

 ** _You burn on the fifth,_**

 ** _We party on the sixth,_**

 ** _You die on the seventh._**

 ** _\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\_**

 _Hello! I hope you're enjoying it - I've finished one of my assignments and now have three more, one for the beginning of December, one for January and one for February and I've been told I have about three more to receive so er, it might be slow updates from now but I'm getting there. However, I know this has happened before and it's happening loads of times to be honest but I get anonymous reviews from people telling me to give up because it's boring and I'm boring and it's not worth it anymore. I want to continue but it's hard when all i get is 15 reviews in a day telling me it's crap and to stop because there are better fanfictions and this one sucks. I dunno._


	47. Chapter 46 - Sam

**Chapter 46 – Sam**

Something had happened to the house again – I wasn't sure what but I knew it was bad. I was downstairs, with a handful of clothes Michael had given to me when he wasn't really paying attention to anything I was saying and I could sense he was speaking telepathically to someone. I helped Nic get changed in the living room, showing her the best way to put on her skiing base layers under her clothes. The base layers were designed to be tight, but because they had gone for Nic's clothes based on her age, and she wasn't the tallest child, everything was a bit too big. I was sitting on the floor folding up the legs on the trouser base layers when Michael came back downstairs, saying that when we were ready we were just to leave the house. He was distracted again. Moments previous, when he was talking to me about the shooting he seemed fine, like his mind was made up on a way to go, but now he was distracted as ever. He kept running his hand through his hair, he looked tired and drained once more with dark rings under his eyes giving away his fatigue, and there was something about the way he held himself – like he was defeated.

'Nic, wait here for a moment, put your shoes on,' I told her gently, handing her the snow boots that had arrived for her. She wrinkled her nose. 'I know they're not very comfortable, pumpkin, but you just need to wear them a bit more to make them comfortable,'

'Okay,' Nic sighed and I kissed her forehead.

'Thanks,' I said to her walking out into the kitchen. Michael was tapping away at his phone furiously.

'What's happened now?' I asked, breathing shakily from my cry earlier. Everything had just overwhelmed me suddenly and I broke down – and since Michael was asleep for the second time in a week I couldn't wake him up for the single reason of comfort. I had considered calling Ella, but I didn't want to disturb her and Lucy was already burdened enough. So I just sat there and cried alone until Michael woke up and found me – thankfully I had out cried myself by that point.

'There's something on Nic's window,' Michael said, finding a photo on his phone. He opened it up and showed it to me. In red dripping writing, the words in block capitals were across the large spread of my daughter's window; "You burn on the fifth, we party on the sixth, you die on the seventh". I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand and I teared up, looking at Michael. He pulled me into him.

'Calm down,' He whispered to me fiercely. 'Don't let Nic know, Vick's on his way down, he's told us to leave the house so Nic doesn't see it,'

'But,' I whispered. Oh God – was it happening tonight?

'I don't think it's happening tonight,' Michael whispered to me, 'I think tomorrow, according to what happened earlier and that poem that gentleman put through the door for me, so we have one more night together, and then we can go back to England and back to normality,'

No – we had one more night together before he potentially dies, potentially gets life-changing complications, could be paralysis or it could be him never leaving hospital. There was a flutter in my stomach as I realised how fiercely I love him. It was hard to describe if you've never felt it; that burning pride and the sense to protect them at all costs – and it felt like holding onto a fire when you knew they were going to get hurt and you couldn't do anything to stop it.

'We know I'll be fine, Sam,' Michael whispered. 'What happened to enjoying today?'

'It's pretty hard when there's blood writing on our daughter's window,' I protested back and Michael kissed me hard, shutting me up pretty well. After about a minute, he pulled away.

'Please, don't worry about it,' Michael told me softly. 'Let's go,'

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Michael managed to pull the car out of the driveway and onto the front pavement, allowing me and Nic to walk to the car and climb in without seeing the window itself. I did turn around and see the backwards writing. Instead, Michael just looked at me as I turned around to look at the house and gently shook his head at me, before putting his hand on my leg and gently rubbed my knee.

 _Don't worry, sweetheart, the FBI are on it like flies._

 _Why not Maui?_ I mumbled back, at least I knew the men and Maui or had briefly seen them. The FBI was a completely unknown quantity. I was still entirely confused as to why the FBI had taken the case from Maui. Michael seemed to think it was because how many of the assistant managers were over here, and how they always call the shots at Maui along with Joe, and Joe's older brother Jake. So when only Jake was left in charge it would put unnecessary strain on him to call the shots of his sister-in-law and best friend, so he signed the case over to the FBI.

 _Easier for Jake,_

 _That's the only reason?_

 _Yeah, he's only one guy, he can't work miracles and he can't be overly trusted to call high profile shots when his brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew are involved. Susan agreed to hand it over to the FBI, but they'll continue to monitor it._

 _Right._

He put the car into first, and started to drive off; checking in the mirror to make sure Nic was in her booster seat and strapped up.

 _I thought you said the house was safe, and they couldn't find it – and they've found it twice._

 _No, they found it once, and sent two people._ Michael said, smiling at me smugly.

 _Michael!_

 _Sam, they won't touch you. They don't want anything to do with you; this is about Maui's work._

 _Yeah, but if you missed the massive reveal over the last week, the people who want you is my father and my brother – potentially my twin brother. Even if this is about Maui, and in which case they could have picked anyone to make a point and not you, it's about me too. They picked you to shoot because, well, because of me._

 _Sam, this thing has gone on for year without you even being in the picture or being with me. This goes back to before Ella and I picked up Lucy way back then. I was the one who dragged you into this, thinking I was keeping you and Nic safe and I've just dragged you into what I was trying to protect you from._

 _This isn't our fault, though, this is the actions of others,_ I said.

 _We didn't cause this._ Michael confirmed, waiting at a junction for the red light to turn green. _So when all of this does happen, don't think it's because of you, alright sweetheart, it wasn't your fault._

 _I know,_ I muttered, curling up slightly as a wave of nausea hit me. The realisation that something will happen occurred yet again. Every time I thought about it, the consequences of my dream, I felt so sick with nerves and guilt and had bouts of prickly heat. I had hoped and prayed that something wouldn't happen but it was inevitable. That word hit me a thousand times; inevitable. Michael frowned at me.

 _Are you okay?_

 _Yeah, just cold._

He knew I was lying, but we had agreed to not overly think about it but that was all I could do. Michael turned a corner and parked up in the restaurant – it was a wooden chalet building like the majority of places within this town, with large off-set windows around the premises, There was a small wooden porch outside, with potted plants either side and hanging lights, showing the open door. It was pretty dark already, considering it was only five – so we had two and bit hours until the fire work show this night. We got out the car and Michael picked Nic up.

'Come on,' He said to me sweetly, offering his hand to me. I took it and he squeezed it before he led me into the restaurant.

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'Sam!' Will said loudly from the other side of the room, jogging over to me before picking me up and hugging me – spinning me in a circle. 'Long time no see,' He said to me sweetly before he dropped me on the floor, letting me go from his embrace but keeping his hands on my upper arms. We had just walked into the Benedict's house after out meal which was incredible. Michael was a few steps in front of me, and Nic a few steps in front of him. Nic was absolutely buzzing with excitement for the fireworks – not only that Michael had foolishly allowed her to have an adult sized dessert, which I knew would be a mistake. He was only just realising the extent of his mistake as she ran out of the car and into the house, managing to find Lily in the living room.

'We saw each other yesterday?' I asked him and he smiled.

'Yeah, we did, didn't we?' Will replied back and I frowned.

'You're being odd,'

'Coffee?' He asked promptly, walking into the kitchen. Without saying anything, or even looking at me in an odd way, I knew he was beckoning me into the kitchen. I followed him, watching him stick on the coffee machine that was in the corner.

'What's wrong?' I asked him.

'The danger level around you, Michael and Nic is high. Very high,' Will told me and I took a deep breath, my voice catching in my throat. I was left speechless. 'Not so high that I would suggest it would happen tonight, but its high enough for concern,' Will said.

'Why are you telling me this?'

'You're smart,' He told me, 'I like you,'

'Okay, why are you telling me?' I asked again.

'Sit down for a moment, Sam,' He said, gesturing to the coffee table in the middle of the room. I slid into the chair, my chest deflating slightly and my hands starting to shake. Will looked up for a moment, telepathically contacting someone and a few moments later, Xav came around the corner. He slid into the chair next to mine.

'You know how I like my coffee,' Xav told Will and he sighed dramatically.

'I'm not a barista,' Will said.

'You could be, branch out a bit, don't lay all your eggs in one nest or something,' Xav said, leaning back on the chair.

'That's not the saying,' Will said, pulling out a third cup from the cupboard. The big jug was near enough filled with coffee, and Will poured it into the three mugs. 'Sam, how do you take your coffees?'

'Milk and two sugars?'

'Two?' Xav turned around to me mockingly before his face went serious as he looked at me, leaning back slightly in the chair as he frowned. 'Sam?'

'Yeah?'

'Don't be weird Xav, just because she has a sweet tooth. Exactly like Crystal.' Will sighed, pushing a mug across the table to me.

'You just look... tired,' Xav said weakly but it felt like a lie.

'That's rude,' Will said back to him.

'Everyone needs sleep, and it hasn't been the easiest week ever,' Xav said, rubbing my arm slightly. 'Why are we having a nice coffee?' Xav added, having a sip of his black coffee.

'I need you to calm Sam down so I can speak to her, in case the coffee won't calm her down –'

'Did you give someone _coffee_ to calm them _down,_ that's like giving a toddler _alcohol_ to get them to _sleep,_ you idiot,' Xav whined and Will pushed his coffee further too him

'It'll get cold if you don't drink it, and you'll get crabby,' Will whispered to him, 'and your pregnant wife won't be happy when I return you crabby,'

Xav took a long sip of his coffee before nodding,

'Sam, he won't be speaking anymore, he's just here to calm you down if you get a bit upset, so you won't talk will you, Xavier?'

'Xavier...' He muttered annoyed.

'Oi,' Will said and Xav just nodded, miming zipping his lips closed and locking it, before throwing the key away. 'Thank you,'

'This danger level, you said, it's high but it's not too high,' I said Will nodded to me, Xav moving his hand to hold my wrist for a moment, checking my pulse. Will checked with Xav and he nodded.

'We know when it will happen, and we know it's not tonight, however, that means the danger level is unexplained. We just need you to be cautious, make sure that you are always around us. We don't want to ruin the night for you, Michael and Nic. We know she's never seen been a firework show before, and we don't want to ruin it for her. Any idea why the levels would be high?'

'No, I have no idea,' I whispered in shock, but I felt floaty calm. I looked over at Xav and he smiled, raising his mug at me. I took a sip of my coffee to try and calm myself down in addition to his calming.

'That's fine, but just be careful tonight, all the boys know to keep an eye on you and keep you surrounded, we've got vehicles close to us too, but it could mean you're going to be watched by someone. We have the shield around the house, but they got through the shields around your house. We don't know if they can get through this shield too,'

'Why are you telling me and not Michael – we all know I'm not the useful one,' I sighed.

'You really underestimate yourself, Sam, but you can't see it. You need to realise that you are worth a thousand times more than what you think you're worth. We're telling you because, out of you two, you're the one in charge, and it was never Michael calling the shots.'

'Also, telling Michael would be a dumbass idea,' Xav said and Will rolled his eyes. 'Sorry, I'm not meant to be speaking am I?'

'No,'

'I'm not the one calling the shots,' I replied.

'You are, Sam, you might not realise you are. Michael hasn't made an original decision since he was like, eight, he seems like a bulldozer and like he's in charge, but it's you. You're the one who calls all the shots around here. It's impressive how you've tamed Michael,' Will said to me before taking a sip of his coffee. 'And quite frankly, we all trust you to be rational, over him.'

'Rational?' I asked.

'Not do anything stupid, stay calm and in control,' Will said.

'I don't understand why this is important – why do I need to know about the danger levels? If you wanted me not to be suspicious which it was it seems like, surely not telling me would have been better,'

'It's because we don't know what we're up against. The danger levels could be because someone is watching you so you can't speak, or because someone is telepathically listening to you too, or reading your thoughts, anything.'

'So why don't you just cancel tonight,'

'Then they'll know we're onto them – we have to be one step ahead of them and this is the best way to go. Just don't think about any of the plans –'

'I don't know the plans fully, Will, because I can't "be trusted" remember?' I snapped at him.

'Good point, but don't think about us having plans. Take your mind off it,'

'Take my mind off my boyfriend getting shot, good advice, now my mind will be floaty good.' I argued back and Xav smiled at me.

'I just wanted to tell you to be careful,'

'I appreciate it, but I don't understand _why_ I needed to know,'

'To be careful,' Will said back, downing his coffee. 'You alright Nic?' He said the second he put his cup down. Nic had entered the room almost silently and was standing in the doorway, waiting on the threshold, but was constantly moving.

'Mummy?' She whispered.

'What's up?'

'Is Daddy going to be okay?' She muttered.

'Of course he is,' I sighed and Will looked over at me, wondering if she had overheard the conversation.

'He might die,' She whispered.

'He won't, Nic,'

'Daddy was speaking to Uncle Joe secretly – Uncle Joe said he might die,'

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I hid in Ella's old room within the Benedict house, unable to go downstairs and see anyone. Joe told me that he was in charge of making plans and to trust him whole heartedly and then he goes and tells Michael he will die? Will told me it was probably a misunderstanding and I could only hope it was. I excused myself to the bathroom, the sick feeling of guilt and dread slapping me around the face and punching me in the stomach simultaneously. However, I walked past the bathroom, up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms that felt safe to hide in. I could only assume it was Ella's room – it had barely been touched but regularly cleaned. Text books and work books were still on the desk, never returned back to the school and each of the work books had her name printed neatly on the front, with her italic handwriting filling each one. There was a travel cot underneath the window, and the bed was neatly made. There was a wall full of Polaroid photos – that was the thing I saw to realise it was her room – and it was clearly a technique her brothers and parents had thrown in to help overcome her depression after her suicide attempt and continued through until just after Lily's birth. It started off with a younger looking Ella – smaller, stick thin, very pale, with some friends together. Another one was her white water rafting, a holiday with her brothers somewhere on a beach, all of them in swimwear together, arms around each other's shoulders, grinning into the camera. Ella was in a bikini on the right hand side, Uriel's arm around her waist pulling her in as she stood on tiptoes.

Ella was beautiful, and there was no two ways about it. These photos could be in a models portfolio and get every single modelling vacancy there was. The photos continued on down the wall, and I saw ones with Sky – the youngest Benedict's Soulfinder and a girl who had been very sweet to me. She looked younger too, and very shy and timid. It went on to a trip to London, and then a picture of Phee in her wedding dress with Sky and her as bridesmaids. A picture of Italy. And then a picture of Diamond's wedding.

Under it was a picture of Crystal, Phee, Sky and Ella all at a sleepover together, in matching Disney pyjamas in a blanket fort. I recognised the place as Michael's house and smiled softly. There was then a picture of all of them Hawaiian gear – leis and flowery bras on top of bright pink shirt – and the next photo was them covered head to toe in mud. There were some more pictures of the four of them on what looked like a girls holiday away. I looked at the dates and noticed there was a good few months between that photo and the next one – and the next one was a picture of an ultrasound. I frowned, trying to read the very small date in the top corner, which was around five years ago, which means it must be Lily's ultrasound. The last photo on the wall was incredible; it was taken from an angle, with Ella with her hair tied up in a messy pony tail in a hospital bed. In her arms was a newborn Lily, but you couldn't see too much of her as she was swaddled in a light pink blanket. Sitting awkwardly on the side of the bed, with one leg standing up, and with one arm around the back of Ella's shoulders and the other gently holding the newborn, was Joe. It was the look of admiration and love on his face that got to me.

'We didn't know that photo was being taken,' A voice said behind me and I jumped out of my skin, turning around to yell at Joe. He stood right behind me, looking at the photos too. I wanted to yell at him, scream and tell him what he had seen was all fake and Michael was fine, but there was something about him that told me not too. He was innocent in a way –clueless.

'When Lily was born, she was taken down to neonatal. She was a few weeks premature, so they had to put her on oxygen until they knew her lungs were fine, and because Ella had no prenatal care for the first sixteen weeks of the pregnancy, they wanted to make sure she was fine. Lily was, of course, and that was the first time we held her,' Joe said, gently touching the photo, smiling. 'We were just so focused on Lily, we didn't even realise the nurse had found my phone and had taken this photo along with a few others, until we got home.' Joe explained. 'Ella loves the photo. I'm never good with emotions, I never know how to show them so most of the time I don't, or I mask it with happiness, but there you can see exactly what I was thinking, you know what it's like. The first time you held Nic,'

I nodded – it was incredible. It was an instant love for someone you didn't even know.

'You told Michael that he was going to die,' I meant to question him but it came out as a statement.

'He asked if we had plans if he was going to die, something about a dream, and I said we do but it's barely touched upon. Nic was standing behind us the entire time, and she didn't believe Michael when he tried to explain that we were just talking and he is going to be fine,' Joe said softly and I sighed. I couldn't be mad at him.

'You're doing well, Sam, no one's said this to you enough. You're doing incredibly well. This isn't easy for any of us and this is our jobs. You, however, you're a teacher. You've never had to go through the training we do, and here you are being incredible about it.'

'I'm not coping though,'

'If you were, I'd be concerned you were a sociopath.' Joe told me honestly.

'What?'

'If you weren't bothered and was coping fine knowing your boyfriend was going to be shot by the people who kidnapped your daughter, I would be concerned that you're a sociopath or something. You're not coping, that's fair enough. None of us are coping, but we're all masking it well,'

'I'm pretty sure you asked me how I was coping,' I asked him, continuing to study the photos.

'Probably,' He said.

'So it'll be fine for me to not cope after it happens too?'

'God yeah, if you're not a mess in the hospital refusing to shower and being a general pain in the ass even when it comes to eating, I'll be worried.' Joe said. 'Love is a funny thing, and loving these two,' he gestured to a photo of a young Michael and an even younger Ella, 'is even funnier. They're like Gods, and here they are. You got the calmer of the two, but the slightly more aggressive. He's not aggressive to you – I hope – but anyone who dares offends you. Ella just doesn't stop moving at all. But if you look at Cameron and Chris too – it's genetic. Very... unique family. If you're not a shipwreck when this happens, we'll be concerned. But if you are a shipwreck, I promise you now I'll be the pain in the ass that forces you to shower, eat and sleep,' Joe said smiling, before looking down at the cot by the window.

'Come on, we're all about to head out to the fireworks. You need to find your God before he wanders off again,' Joe said, gently putting his hand on my back to guide me out the room. 'All four of them have profanities to wander off,'

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It was bitingly cold outside – thankfully the snow had almost grinded to a stop with the occasion flurry as we all made it down to the ski car park where the firework show was being held – the majority of the Benedict's and us lot walked down there, but what Will said was true – there was two vehicles that were driven down to the site carrying the fireworks, but were tucked away in the tree line out the way from the sight.

The car park was huge; it must be able to park over seven hundred cars which Zed explained to me in peak winter times meant it got pretty full quickly. There was also a section for coached that was closed tonight too, which was a bit away from the car park and which was where the fireworks were being lit. It was pretty busy by the time we showed up; at least half the town were already there. There was some hot drink vendors to one side with a stall, others selling glow sticks and light up toys, another with food. The smell of the place was incredible – and to one side of the car park was a bonfire, already lit and crackling away. Saul said to me he had been down earlier the day and set everything up. There were three teenagers on the front gates selling the tickets to come in which everyone happily did and I smiled slightly. The money was going straight too Cameron and Chris, and with everyone happily donating with signs saying the costs were going to "the decoration and refurbishing the ski lift" which Cameron and Chris were already helping with it would make them a decent amount of money. Even though we were offered free entry, Michael brought us the tickets and I pretended I didn't notice him sticking in some green bills into the large bucket on the end of the table. He smiled to me, hugging me tight with Nic on his shoulders.

'You disappeared earlier,' Michael said to me and I nodded.

'I was helping Will with the drinks; he was asking me about my degree and post-grad work.' I lied and he nodded.

'He mentioned you said about your Masters' and PhD,' Michael said and I nodded, even though Will and I never discussed such a thing or even mentioned about my education. 'He pointed out it would make you a Doctor – right? Is that how those things work?'

'I think so,' I said, but I never knew either.

'Dr. Rose,' He said, smiling down at me. 'Very sexy,'

'Daddy,' Nic sighed and he laughed slightly.

'I'll get you a hot chocolate,' Michael said up to her, an apology for her overhearing the comment. He gently changed the direction we were talking through the crowd that was starting to build to one of three warm drinks stand – all of the stands were hosted by the Benedict's and Saul mentioned to me that all the money would go them, not just the profits. Saul had very quickly accepted Cameron and Chris as his nephews and already loved them – Saul was incredibly admirable.

'Michael, hi!' A girl came up to her – I say girl. She must have been early twenties. The girl that was speaking had incredible hair, shades between dark brown and light caramel colour and wore jeans and a jumper in a very good way. There was an engagement ring on her finger. Next to her, a small sleek girl with the straightest hair I had ever seen. I wondered for a moment if it was an incredibly styled wig, but I placed it down to her ethnicity. I looked up at Michael for a moment wondering who these girls were, and then I saw Sky come jogging through the crowd, but before she made it Michael had already replied.

'Hey, Tina, Zoe,' Michael said smoothly.

'Ella never told us you had a kid!' Tina said as he picked Nic off his shoulders and placed her carefully on the snow, making sure she didn't slip. She immediately stood next to Michael, her arm around his giraffe-length legs.

'We didn't know until recently,' Michael confessed.

 _Who are these people?_ I asked him.

 _Some of Ella's and Sky's old school friends – I got to know them pretty well after Ella's attempted suicide and every time I came over here to visit or for a case, we would always go out together. They're nice girls._ Michael told me. I nodded.

'Oh,' was all Tina could say.

'You two need to stop wandering off,' Sky said, out of breath slightly. 'You two alright?' Sky asked even though we had seen her only moments previous. She of course knew what was going to happen to Michael at some point, but she must have also been informed by will about tonight – because Michael just agreed without a second thought but Sky still looked at me waiting for me to reply too. I nodded, my throat tightening with tears.

'Anyway, I promised this little one a hot chocolate, so I'll see you two around,' Michael said, 'And I'll see you in like two hours or something,' He said to Sky.

Nic looked up at him and he nodded, before she ran off in the direction of the warm drinks stand, but slightly more cautious than normal due to the snow. Not that she really cared about the snow – she was telling me earlier that the snow was her friend and so was the ice, and neither of them wanted to hurt her but she still had to be careful. I wandered how she knew the snow and ice wouldn't hurt her but considering this was her first proper snowfall and time on snow and ice, she had remarkable balance. Taking into account her age as well, she was phenomenal. I wondered if she could ice skate naturally – or ski. I wouldn't be surprised and I would have to check.

I crossed my arms and stood behind Michael as he ordered the drinks from the counter. He happily chatted to the girls on the drinks stand, and they flirted back in response. He picked up the three takeaway mugs from the table, thanking the girls, before turning back. Michael handed me one and I took it gratefully. He then handed one to Nic and she grinned, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

'Is it good idea to give her a hot drink?' I muttered to Michael as he put his arm around me again.

'I asked the girls to put some milk in it to cool it down,' Michael said. He then looked down at me, smiling before kissing. 'I love you, Sam,'

'What's got into you?' I asked my stomach dropping. 'What's happening, do you know anything, is something going to –' He cut me off with another kiss, this time slightly longer. He gently bit my lip before pulling away.

'Nothing's got into me, I have no idea about anything, I just love you,' Michael said to me softly, 'We can't let the paranoia ruin this night,' He said to me, kissing more forehead. 'We could come back here next year if you want,'

'I thought you said they don't do this?' I asked him.

'They do a small firework show every year, despite Bonfire Night not being massive here. It started when Ella was young; they did a tiny firework show for her the first Bonfire Night after she was adopted, and the next year they made it into a community thing. America is weird; in small towns like these events such as a firework show gets everyone together as so on. It's not a massive tradition and they never go to this extent, but Saul said from here on in, he might. It's a good turn out.'

'It's an incredible turnout –' I said. We were edging towards the starting time of the fireworks and it looked like there were over five hundred people here. I edged forward slightly and looked at the live counter the front gates had set up – 672 people and counting. The show had been advertised to other towns and quite a lot of people made it here despite the heavy snow. I looked around twenty feet in front of me where Nic was walking happily in front of me, now with a bracelet and necklace of glow sticks.

'Nic, where did you get that?' I asked, and Michael looked down and frowned.

'Lily,' Nic said, gesturing over to Lily. She was walking hand in hand with Ella, Joe next to her holding the baby. Lily too was decked in glow sticks, and she turned around and waved at us. Ella and Joe continued to talk.

'Oh,' Michael said, 'Didn't even notice them walk past,'

'It was because you were kissing,' Nic said and Michael looked at me with a grin on his face. 'Which is naughty,' Nic added, sipping her hot chocolate. The take out cup looked big in her small hands but she still took a sip.

'Caught red handed,' Michael said, his hand on my waist pulling me in.

'The fireworks will start in ten minutes, everyone, ten minutes,' an announcement went across the rudimentary system,

'Let's get to the front,' Michael said to me softly, gently touching Nic's back to guide her to the front. However, people were already there and we ended up a few rows from the front, surrounded by strangers who all chatted happily. Nic looked up at me with big puppy eyes and I sighed, quickly picking her up and placing her on my shoulders.

'I love fireworks,' Nic whispered.

'There haven't been any fireworks, yet, pumpkin,' Michael said to her softly.

'Yet,' Nic said back. 'Where's bunny?' Nic asked.

'Er...' I said.

'I think you left it at Uncle Saul's house, Nic,' Michael said and Nic pouted.

'I want bunny,'

'Nic,' I sighed.

'Bunny wanted to see the fireworks too, Daddy,' Nic said and Michael looked down at me.

'I'll run back to the house to grab Bunny for you, sweetheart,' Michael said and I looked at him slightly funny.

'We can all go and grab bunny,' I said to him.

'No, don't worry, I shouldn't be too long – I might just miss the start of the fireworks. I won't be too long, alright sweetheart?' Michael said to me softly.

'Okay,' I agreed reluctantly. 'Okay, fine,' I added and Michael smiled at me. He pulled me into a hug, before bending down slightly and kissed me firm for a few seconds, giving me warmth. I pulled back and his eyes shone a deep green colour and in that moment, there was nothing more I wanted than him. I wanted everything he promised with time; to get married, settle down (without the risk of Kingdom hunting down) and have our own child to bring back to here in a few years time.

'Promise me you'll be fine?' I asked.

'Of course I will,' Michael said lightly, leaning forward to kiss me again. 'I love you – I'll only be about ten or fifteen minutes,'

'I love you Daddy!' Nic said from shoulders hugging him awkwardly. Michael chuckled and hugged her back.

'I love you too, pumpkin,' He said. 'I'll see you soon,' He kissed me one last time before running off back through the crowd.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/

Michael didn't come back.

I clicked he was late about half way through when I looked around the crowd. I started to wander about in the half way break about an hour after he had left. I kept telling myself that he had just got lost and we got told not to use telepathy whilst we were in Colorado despite us using it once or twice without even noticing. It was half way through the second part of the firework show that a dark feeling had hit me. This was a dire circumstance.

 _Michael?_ I asked him telepathically and it took my breath away. It was like he wasn't there. Telepathic messages were like chucking a tennis ball down a street and the other person would catch it. However, this felt like I was throwing a tennis ball into a portal and it disappeared. Like Michael was gone. _Michael, where are you?_

There was nothing.

 _Michael!_

I shouted telepathically but there was nothing.

 _Ella, Michael's gone missing – he went to the house to pick up Nic's bunny before the fireworks started and he hasn't come back – I can't find him anywhere and when I try talking to him telepathically he's not there._ I told Ella telepathically.

 _Woah, Sam, calm down – what do you mean Michael's gone missing? Are you sure he's not just wandering around?_

 _I'm sure, Ella, oh god this is happening now, isn't it?_

 _Er, meet me by the entrance._ Ella told me and I knew from the grave sound in her voice that this was not good. This wasn't incorporated in any plans.

'Mummy, where's Daddy gone?' Nic asked me, she was now sitting on my hip with her head lolled against my shoulder sleepily.

'I don't know,' I told her honestly. 'I don't know where he's gone,' 


	48. Chapter 47 - Sam

**Chapter 47 – Sam**

Ella slowly guided me into the kitchen of the Benedict's house, turning the lights on as we went. The firework show had ended and everyone had left the grounds but Michael never showed up. We checked the different routes from the house back down to the car park and there were no signs of him – any footprints he made must have been covered up by the snow that had started to fall. Nic has started to ask questions, but neither Ella nor I could work out if we should tell her the truth or a thinly veiled lie. Will had taken Nic off me at one point, taking her back to one of the cars to keep her warm and away from this. All of the Benedict's were raking through the woods and the town trying to find him and they advised for Ella to take me home as I was getting hysterical. I had to agree with them; I had barely been able to speak and I was crying all the time.

'What if he's already been shot –' I sobbed in the kitchen, falling in the chair that Ella had pulled out for me and she wandered over to the kettle putting it on.

'He hasn't,' Ella said.

'How do you know Ella?'

'I just know he hasn't.' Ella replied back. She leant against the kitchen cabinet, back hunched as she looked over to the back door which has always been locked since I got here, but she checked. She was devastated that her brother had gone missing too. However, Ella was holding it together whilst I wasn't. I was a mess. My nose was running, my mascara must have been wiped down my face by now and the nerve sickness had hit me hard. It felt like I was going to throw up at any point. I tried to take deep breaths but this wasn't working.

I felt someone gently squeeze my shoulder and I looked up to see Joe coming into the kitchen. Joe had disappeared with Will, taking Charlie and Lily with him and had before us. He had taken Nic and Lily upstairs into the spare room and tried to make them sleep, but he couldn't do miracles. He must have at least got them into bed and into a semi-docile state before heading back downstairs. Nic didn't quite understand what was happening and she was still upset that her bunny wasn't with her but she was starting to piece together what was happening. She had seen me upset and whilst I couldn't tell her the truth without sobbing. Joe was very quick to take Nic upstairs with Lily, trying to get her to sleep before she realises anything. But Joe's touch did what it always did – it calmed me straight down and I realised that must be part of his charm or something to do with his gift. He just had an aura of calm around it – I could always sense it but it was background. He just kind of did it on people. He gestured for me to take a few deep breaths before he walked over to Ella, holding her at arms width for a second as he frowned – and then he pulled her in for a hug.

I heard the door open and immediately shot up to look. However, only Cameron walked in. I stood watching him as he took off his new snow boats and thick coat, jumping slightly when he saw me standing there. He shook his head and I sobbed again. It was enough to make Cameron rush into action. He came over to me, pulling me into a hug like Joe did to Ella moments previous.

'We'll find him, Sam,' He said to me softly.

'No...' I muttered.

'We will, we will find him before he gets shot. He will be fine, I promise you now Sam. He's a fighter – he hasn't got this far by just rolling over and getting his belly scratched has he?' Cameron said. 'You're freezing, sis, come on, let's get you changed.'

Cameron took me into his room, before leaving to digging out a pair of jogging bottoms and a top from another bedroom in the house – I could only assume it must have been Ella's old clothes as I couldn't imagine Karla wearing grey jogging bottoms and a black camisole shirt with WRICKENRIDGE HIGH PERFORMING ARTS on the back. He had also managed to find an old pull-over crew neck jumper from somewhere for me to put on. He handed me the items, before heading out the room but he waited outside the door. Feeling under pressure to do something, rather than just find the corner of the room to go and sob in like I wanted too, I quickly got changed. The joggers clung to my legs whilst the camisole was a bit too figures hugging but it was all hidden by the jumper. It had to be Michael's – it just smelt like home. I teared up as I hugged it closer.

'Sam, you decent?' Cameron asked.

'Yeah,' I whispered and he opened the door.

'The boys are back, let's go speak to them,' He coaxed and I nodded knowing it meant they didn't find him. If he was found he would be up here in seconds trying to find me. I didn't even hear the other boys come back but there again, I could barely hear Cameron speak I had cried so much. He put his arms around my shoulder before gently guiding me back downstairs. In a way, he was my brother too – when Michael got married to me, he would be my brother in law. If, I should say. It's not looking too promising now all of our plans were out the window. No one had anticipating his happening.

I walked into the kitchen where all of the Benedict's were now standing, with their partners too. Chris stood in the corner, arms crossed next to Vick. They were both chatting away but everyone stopped and looked up at me the second I came into view. Saul came over and bear hugged me, encasing me with warmth and fatherliness gratitude. It made me feel slightly better – but it did make me wonder how terrible I looked if people on the other side of the kitchen – about twenty feet away – could tell I was crying.

'We'll find him, Sam,' Saul said, standing back. He handed me a damp cloth and I used it to wipe my face. The cloth came away black – my mascara.

'Er, Sam, sweetheart,' Someone said, and I looked up. Trace was sitting down at the table, looking up at me. Someone must have told them to act like they were walking on eggshells around me and now everyone was being way too nice. 'We found Nic's bunny, the toy was on one of the cars bonnet,' Trace lifted the bunny that was in an evidence bag, soaking wet.

'What?' I asked.

'In a moment, I'm going to try and trace down the path that led the bunny to be there, and now Ella's got herself together she's going to try and project and see where Michael's trail has gone,'

I looked over at Ella, who was still curled up into Joe's side but it was clear when I left the room or when Joe got to her, she had broken down too. Her face was red and blotchy, and her stature was just small and defeated. If Joe wasn't there holding her up, I'm sure she would be collapsed on the floor. I noted that Sky was looking after Charlie, giving him a bottle of milk, even though I had never seen anyone else feed Charlie apart from those two. In all honesty, I doubted Trace's words because it did not look like Ella had got herself together. It looked like Ella's fear had got the worst of her and exploited her and now she had just finished crying because everyone else had come home. If she was left alone, I wasn't entirely sure if I could trust her. Thankfully, Joe looked like he wouldn't leave her side until this all blows over. I wish someone was at my side but the only person who could substantially help was the person who caused me to be this upset.

There was a pain that couldn't be fixed. I knew it would hurt when the time came but it was unfathomable when it came. It felt like someone had got a butter knife, ripped open my skin, and snapped ribs before finding my heart and hammering nails into it – all whilst I was alive.

'Thank you,' I muttered.

'It's okay, sweetheart, we're family after all,' Saul said to me. 'Come on, let's get you in bed.'

'I'm not –' I said.

'You need to rest,' Xav said, coming over to me slowly before bending down slightly. 'You're exhausted, even if you don't sleep, try and rest,' Xav offered me his hand and I took it. He pulled me up, gently pulling me into a walk. He stopped to close the kitchen door, before putting his hand on my back, guiding me up the stairs, up the flight of the stairs, down the hallway and up the other flight of stairs. He opened the door to me – back into Ella's room. I looked at the photos on the wall and immediately teared up. It wasn't my past, they weren't my memories, but it still got to me.

'Sam, please don't,' Xav whispered before hugging me. In a way, it gave me somewhere to hide. Xav was incredibly tall and well built too, like most of his brothers and Michael, and it gave me a bit of shelter. 'We'll find him, Sam, he can't have got far, Trace is looking for him at the moment, Joe is calming Ella down and I think she's taking Joe with her to try and project and find him.'

'I'm sitting here doing nothing,' I cried and Xav hugged me tighter.

'We're all sitting around doing nothing,' Xav sighed. 'We all wish we could do more,'

There was a knock at the door and I turned around. Joe was standing there, slightly awkwardly, but he looked at Xav and nodded. Xav gently released me, smiling softly as he walked out the room leaving me alone again. They both stopped in the doorway, looking at each other and communicated telepathically, before Xav left and Joe walked in, closing the door behind him.

'Joe,' I sobbed softly and he came over, hugging me.

'I know how shit it feels, Sam, believe me.' Joe said to me softly, gently rubbing the small of my back and I found feel him trying to tiptoe into my mind but I had no power to stop him. Suddenly, I felt a lot calmer as the panic and hysteria left me. 'When Ella was taken, I couldn't function. It's normal,' Joe told me.

'I love him, Joe,' I muttered back weakly.

'Of course you do,' He said back.

'This is it, isn't it?' I asked and Joe sighed.

'Probably. So you do need to rest before tomorrow. We know it won't happen tonight as its getting dark when it happens, but you need to rest, and remember that this time next week, chances are, everything will be normal and you'll be back in England. Try and think ahead,'

I laughed hollowly – like that will happen.

'Everyone's agreed for me to try and put you to sleep for a few hours,' Joe said, 'I said I wouldn't do it without your permission, but,'

'I won't be any help,'

'You can't do anything to get him back, Sam; you'll be a sitting duck. You'll be sitting there waiting to hear anything, every time a floor board creek, or there's a flicker of light from the window, you will be there waiting with a pounding heart, you will be more stressed than you will ever be - and this may be the start of everything that will happen, and you'll be shattered beyond belief, you need to consider Nic too,' Joe told me softly, showing me the edge of the bed.

There was a sickness building in my stomach from the nerves and the stress, and Joe moved over the bin. I threw up the contents of my stomach, cringing as I did. But Joe sat there, gently rubbing my back before moving the bin out the room and into the en suite. I heard the tap turn on.

'Put me out,' I whispered and Joe looked at me.

'How long for?'

'You'll bring me back the second you hear anything?'

'Of course I will, Sam,' Joe told me.

'Promise?'

'Promise,'

'How long do you think is a good amount of time?' I asked, trying not to breathe vomit-breath on him when he's being so nice. However, his wife has gone through two pregnancies so he must be fairly adequate with vomit – both from morning sickness and his children.

'Between five and six hours is a good amount of time, you don't need to worry about Nic either, we'll look after her if she wakes up but both of them are already sound asleep,' Joe said.

'Let's go for six hours, then,' I gritted my teeth, knowing it was for the best. I could wake up and they might have found Michael and were bringing me around to help get him back.

'Okay, see you in six, then,' Joe said softly, gesturing for me to lie down in the bed, and the second my head hit the pillow, his gift turned on fully and I was already asleep.


	49. Chapter 48 - Michael

This was a very prominent reminder not to drink again. Although, I did say that after one of my closest friends stag do a few months ago. Before I had met Sam and Nic, before Charlie was born. Lily had just turned four, if I remember correctly, as I remember dropping around her present and spending some time with her before heading down the pub.

It was a pub crawl, where we went around every single pub in our small town, caught the train to the next station, did the pubs there, train to the next station and so on until we hit our final destination of London Waterloo. There was about fifteen of us who managed to make it onto the last train into Waterloo, and we continued drinking within London until closing time – and then headed back to the flat we had rented out for the night and continued. We must have called it a night around six in the morning, and we all woke up at four in the evening with quite possibly the world's worst hangover. The sound of me breathing caused my head to explode, my mouth was the Sahara desert, and I threw up relentlessly. I had to hire out another hotel room for the night to try and sleep it off. And I swore then to not drink again.

Until now.

No, not until now. I knew I wasn't drunk; I hadn't been irresponsible and drunk to oblivion again. I knew I hadn't drunk anything alcoholic in a while; or been drunk in months. I had given up that reckless weekend life when I met Sam and Nic, and the only thing alcoholic I have had was wine – and that wasn't within the last week. It had been too stressful to even think about drinking. So I wasn't hung over, but it felt like that.

It was also freezing to the point I felt warm with cold. It had never made sense when Ella had said it and even recently I take the mick out of her for saying that. How can someone be warm with cold? That in itself is juxtaposition. You can be warm with warm, or cold when it's cold, but how can you be warm with cold? But now she made sense. I was so cold, that in a way, I was warm. I could feel my own blood within me and it was warm, burning against my skin. It burnt. I was warm with cold. I would never be able to take the piss out of my little sister again – and it upset me. I love to rip her to shreds.

That was if I ever saw her again; the logical part of my brain demanded its attention now. I opened my eyes, groaning against the white light before realising it was snow. I was lying in the middle of the forest in thick snow in just a thin white shirt, blue jeans, black canvas shoes and a denim jacket. Not what I left in – or very practical snow clothes and I realised something major was up. I sat up, sighing even more at my banging head and dry mouth and the overwhelming sickness. I looked around the place where I sat and for as far as I could see there was trees. My jeans and jacket were soaked, and my shirt had the odd wet patches on, on my shoe were done through too. So, I must have been here a while then. It wasn't light – the "white light" I saw earlier was the reflection of the moon which was very visible in the mountains, on the snow I was surrounded with. It was pitch black and I knew it was in the early hours of this morning. The chill in my muscles told that too – I had been idle for at least five hours since the bonfire, the muscles that almost frozen into their relaxed state. I could only guess it was somewhere after midnight but before three in the morning on the 6th November.

This was the start of all of this, then. I knew the shooting would happen in the evening of the 6th November, someone had let that leak. It was just about getting dark. I heard them talking about it one time, and Ella suggested the darkness would allow them to get on out of there untracked. Smart. However, it meant that I had to endure countless hours of what I could only class as bullshit before I saw my family again.

I wondered how Nic was doing. No, I was more concerned about Sam. A thin veil of lies would be all that was needed to cover Nic's eyes – just tell her I had gone to work, or I was helping take down the stands from the firework events and she would be able to go to sleep. Sam, however, would stay awake panicking, begging people to do something or use their gifts as hers wouldn't be able to find where I am. However, I couldn't find where I am at the moment so good luck to everyone else. But Sam would be out of her mind with panic by now. I could only hope Joe would go against every single one of his moral codes and send her to sleep so at least, if she was unable to be here for me, she would be there for our daughter.

A part of me wanted to curl up and wait for help, but the larger part of me realised that was a stupid ass plan and I couldn't just sit here. I was edging on hypothermia (once again, I could never mock Ella for having hypothermia again because it was horrible, and she goes through this time after time every single day) and I had to get moving or frostbite would get to me first. I dragged myself up and out of the snow. But first things first was to establish how I got here in order to work out how to get back, what to watch out for and to try and piece together what had happened to start with. This might be a stupid plan, but I decided to get my blood flowing again by walking around in a rectangle, around four trees, which had a perimeter of around seventy five meters – enough so I could still see where I woke up at all time in case something came to that spot, or there was cameras or sneaky minions waiting to ambush me, but far enough away that if something did crop up, I would be able to run.

I remember being at the fireworks, and paying the people at the counter as they handed me my ticket. I also remember putting a few notes into the box. It was helping my new-found older brothers out and I knew that if they were related to me and Ella they would be stubborn enough to not accept money willingly. So it was a sneaky way of giving it to them. I then remember walking over to one of the drink stands – and Ella and Sky's old friends managed to find us and talk to us, with Sky running over to them to bring them away from me. I bought two hot chocolates and a coffee, asking the barista who had decided to work the night to add some extra milk – cold milk and not frothed milk – into one of them for Nic. She was a hyperactive kid and I didn't exactly want to give her scorching drinks. We then walked over to watch the show when Nic realised her favourite toy wasn't there – her rabbit. She made a slight fuss about it, and my heart caved in and I said I would go and get it for her. I wasn't too fussed about the firework event itself; I lived near Windsor and my sister lived near Ascot, I had three of the biggest firework shows within the area on my doorstep and I could see them from my window; the only one that interested me was LegoLand Windsor's firework display. That was a good one and I put a mental note to buy tickets for Nic next year to go and watch it. So I made my way back to the Benedict's house, unlocking the door with the spare key I had on me, rummaging around the place in darkness before finding Nic's bunny – tucked up in her bed. I grinned as I picked up the teddy, holding it to me slightly as I remade her bed. I was still amazed by how family orientated I had become. Until recently I was fully unaware on how to make a bed – sure I've lived by myself since I was eighteen however, "making the bed" just meant throwing the duvet on top of the bed and maybe fluffing pillows if they had been hammered down wafer thin. I had learnt a bit more from Ella once she moved back to the UK, like what a mattress protector was and the importance of pillow cases and the fitting sheet that goes on top of the mattress – although I wasn't entirely sure what the name was. However, it was only when Sam and Nic came into my life that I realised how to become... well, domesticated. I worked out how to make a bed, change the sheets correctly and the harsh task of putting a duvet into its case. I naturally make a bed now – like I did to Nic's. I remember leaving the house, locking it back up again and cutting down the forest to the ski car park like I had done since the first time I visited over here. I knew the way. But the memory cuts out quickly, like I had been taken down in milliseconds.

So it was either blunt force trauma, or a Savant that had brought me down. I touched the back of my head, feeling around for any bruises or bumps and there was nothing – so it was a Savant who knocked me down.

Also, what was with this awful outfit? I wasn't wearing this – meaning someone had changed me and taken my clothes. It took me a moment to realise that this was actually a good move. Trace might have been able to trace me down from my clothes, so taking them off would have been logical. However, Trace's gift would then trace down the people who touched my clothes and where their location is now. So, potentially Trace might not be able to find me but the people who did this to me. I had hope that Ella would be able to find me, though. She must be projecting right now trying to find me. Would she be even looking in the right place? I wasn't entirely sure. I didn't even know where I was, so how would she be able to find me?

I settled the idea; now warmer I was going to try and find my way to a near town or even a house and ask for help or just to get out of the area. I knew I was still in Wrickenridge – the side of the mountain looked familiar and the way the forest had been cared for suggested that we were in the mountains within the town. A memory started to reform; Ella had told me that, the beginning of every winter, her and the boys would spread out into the woods of the mountains with carving knifes and write on the trees the directions back to the house – in code, of course. The Benedict's – most of them kids at that age – spent ages in their natural back garden which was the skiing mountains they lived on. They all ski boarded out here, and Ella used to go for a run with the dogs in the woods if she couldn't make it into the town because the conditions were perilous. So to prevent them all getting lost, they would go around and carve letters onto the trees; each Benedict would take one direction each, and would be assigned two letters of the alphabet. So Trace would head north from the house, and would write a on the trees that the house pointed to, or b on the back. You would follow the letter "B" to get back, or "A" to go into the woods. It carried on, Uriel heading north east into the woods, writing "C" on the trees to head out, or "D" to head back in again. It worked really well, there was eight points of the compass, and eight children, and they did these marks for _miles_ until they reached a point. I knew it saved them from getting lost thousands of times, and it might just help me now.

I started to walk in a wide arc, trying to find any tree with a letter on. It took me about thirty minutes to find what I was looking for. The carving wasn't very neat, and had moss growing on it, but it was clear there was an "L" carved into the wood. I sat there and tried to work out where I was based on the letter. I sang the alphabeted in my head, and worked out I was south-east to the house, heading away from in. So I just needed to head south-east forward and I should end up at the Benedict's house.

But was that stupid? If this is it all about to kick off, would that mean heading home would be the stupidest thing ever? Probably. But I needed to know everyone was okay in there, I needed to know that Sam and Nic were okay.

I thanked – I worked out the names to each point – Xav or Ella (well, Ella always liked to rub the fact in that she was four months older than Xav, and everyone respected those four months, so it was probably Xav's carving on the tree) so Xav's carvings for potentially saving my life and started to make my way down the mountain to hopefully the house, following the carving patterns as my own personal map.

Within the hour, and somehow ending up walking over to the right, and then the left, and the back to the carved "N"'s and down the hill. In the end, I found the fence that encased the back garden of the Benedict's house – or, perhaps, someone else's house. I knew the best thing to do at the moment was to go with my gut instinct. We had done it before, making a plan around someone's future-seeing, but we told the person in the events leading up to the event to go with their gut instinct – the very basic that you would do and it would lead to those events. And my gut instinct told me to not find Sam and Nic and keep them out of this. I wanted to know they were okay. I formulated my plan well; I would find someone who hopefully wasn't Sam or Nic and ask them if they were okay. I just needed to know they were okay. And then, I would remove the memories of me ever being there; thus keeping everyone else safe and at least knowing that Sam and Nic were not in the same fate that I was.

I opened the fence, walking gently into the premises careful not to make a noise, closing it behind me and locking it myself. I could see someone at the table, female, curled shoulders with a mug in her hand. She was not looking my way but rather at the kitchen table or whatever was in her mug. I couldn't quite make out who it was, though, but from the very small posture of the girl I could put it down to either Sky or Ella – and I didn't care which one it was. They would both be good as each other. I crept over towards the kitchen door, unlocking it telekinetically before opening it. It was only as I stepped in, the soles of the shoes making a horrible squeak that pierced the otherwise quiet of the night that Ella looked up, her mouth dropping as she put down her mug. She stood up, going to shout for everyone.

'No, Ella, don't,' I said, gesturing for her to be quiet. 'For everyone else's safety, you can't let anyone know I'm here,' I whispered, closing the kitchen door.

'You bastard, you've been missing for six hours now.' She said and looked at the clock – it was about half three in the morning. Ella also had a thick blanket around her shoulder so I knew she was out in a projection looking for me. That would explain why she didn't notice me in the garden or until my shoe made a noise – she was too busy focused on finding me. 'You have to let Sam and Nic know, they've been out of their mind worrying about you!'

'I can't, Els, they won't be safe if they know that I'm just hanging around. I don't think I was meant to wake up this early,'

'What the bloody Hell are you wearing?' Ella hissed at me, getting up and putting the kettle back on to make me a coffee. I sat down at the chair she was just in, grateful for the warmth of the radiator behind me. 'Wait, no,' Ella muttered, backing away from me like I was poison.

'What?'

'That is what we all wore when we got kidnapped by Kingdom, Michael, that is exactly what we wore!' Ella protested.

'They're making a statement, then, like we expected,' I told her, trying to calm her down – even though I thought it would be the other way around, them calming me down as I was the one being kidnapped. Well, abducted I guess would be the corrected term.

'You weren't wearing that in Sam's dream,'

'Well, I'm not planning on wearing wet clothes for God knows how long, little sis,' I told her and she just nodded slightly. 'How long has everyone been looking for me? I was only a few miles from here up the mountain, it's odd no one found me,'

'Was there any tree carvings?'

'Yeah, I was in Xav's portion,'

'We looked there. I flew over every inch of that section and you weren't there!'

'So, someone put a shield up around me to stop you seeing me – was it just you that looked that close?'

'Er, Trace tried to track down Nic's bunny, and that got him to the spot on the trail that someone wiped you out, but we wouldn't track you from there. The boys have hunted through the woods, and found nothing. We had to call it a night, but it didn't stop me,' Ella said, pouring me a mug of coffee and she pushed it over towards me, sitting opposite. 'I'm so sorry, Michael,' Ella went to start saying and I cut her off.

'No, this isn't your fault, Ella; none of this has been your fault. Nothing in your life that I've been majorly pissed off about is your fault and really I'm the one that needs to be apologising, I have never been nice to you in your life, I've always criticised you for things that you can't help, and I've just been a general dickhead to you, and for that I really am sorry. I just want you to know that I am super proud of you, even if I don't show it all the time and even though we wind each other up constantly, and yeah you are my little sister but that doesn't mean that I don't love you.' I told Ella as she teared up.

'I love you too, Michael, I'm sorry for winding you up constantly and...' She started to cry and I got up, pulling her up and hugging her to me chest as she cried. 'This always happens when I get sentimental,' She cry-hiccupped awkwardly as she hugged me.

'God, that's why we don't do this often, it's either that or you're pregnant again,' I laughed back, putting my hand across her abdomen. She laughed, knocking my hand off as I hugged her a bit tighter.

'They'd be proud of you,' Ella muttered back and I knew she meant our birth parents. I smiled slightly. 'They really would,'

'I hope so,' I replied, 'and they'd be proud of you too,'

We continued hugging like that for a while as Ella calmed herself down and I composed myself too. I was only getting sentimental because I knew the imminent threat to my life that would be imposed within the next twenty four hours and how, if it doesn't go to plan, the chances of my death were sky high and I didn't want to leave without telling the people who mean the most to me that I love them. A final goodbye if things were to turn sour.

'Where is Sam?' I asked her as she pulled away from me.

'I thought you weren't going to see her?' Ella said 'That it wouldn't be safe?'

'Well, Joe's put her to sleep, correct? And Nic too?' I asked and Ella nodded.

'Sam put up a fight, but Joe convinced her it was for the greater good. She's in my bedroom, Nic and Lily are sharing a bed in the third spare room – the one that used to be Will's room,' Ella said to me. 'Talk to them quietly, or they might wake up, Joe didn't put them under fully.'

'Thanks, I'll be down in a second,'

'And walk quietly as well, everyone one else is asleep or doing work in their rooms,' Ella said, walking back over to the kitchen unit and wiping it down. I nodded, before leaving the room. The Benedict's house was a large chalet-type building and had quite a few noisy floorboards, but thankfully I had been around this house a lot when I was younger and had memorised which floorboards creaked and groaned and which ones didn't, and managed to make it up the first flight of stairs and half way across the hallway when I heard some footsteps in one of the rooms. I froze on the spot, waiting for them to stop and a few minutes of restless pacing later, I was free to continue up. I made it all the way up the second bunch of stairs and outside Ella's bedroom doors before pausing. Sure enough there was no sound and I let myself in.

Sam was curled up on her side, the duvet roughly pulled over her, but she looked distressed – sad. Her mascara she had put on for the firework shows was in tear marks down her face. Even the way she curled up alone, but on the edge of the bed like she wanted to make an escape killed me off. I gently closed the door behind me before edging over to the bed crouching down to talk to her quietly.

'Hey, Sam,' I whispered to her, and I felt like a relative of someone in intensive care, or in a coma. They wouldn't wake up but people still spoke words, to ease their own suffering and provide support. 'I'm safe,' I said but I didn't know what else to say. She wasn't listening, though, but her dream self might be. I knew she listed whole heartedly to her dreams, so I would just have to tell her the truth.

'You know, when the letter from Brooklyn came through to my house three in the morning a few months back I thought it was a total hoax because something that great, such as having my own daughter, wouldn't just _happen_ like that. It wouldn't just occur in the middle of the night. I thought it would take nine months of waiting with the person I love to pieces, and then voila! I didn't know what to do when it came through; I just sat at it, staring, almost like I was waiting for it to come alive and slap me and give me instructions. But that never happened.' I said, gently finding her hand and holding it.

'So I took it to someone who would give me a slap and give me instructions. Of course, that was Ella and Joe. Ella told me I had to get my shit together, accept things will be different now I had my child, and go and find her. She told me to apologise to the person looking after her and thank her profusely and that was it. But there was a part of me that wasn't sure this is what I wanted, and I nearly didn't come down to Blakeley that day. I was too scared. However, I have been eternally grateful I did because if I wasn't there at that moment, or I came an hour later, Nic wouldn't have been outside with her preschool class, she wouldn't have seen me and come running over to me to talk about clouds, and you wouldn't have come running down from somewhere just appearing and telling me off like you've known me for years. God, that took my ego down a few pegs. I think everyone knew about us before it happened though. Lily told Ella that we would be happy and married together, and Nic of course knew about me. You knew Nic's father was your Soulfinder but you didn't know that I was Nic's father and we were left in a loop of oblivion. It took us time, well, it took you telling me several times you hate me and you don't need me and for me to piss off, to realise that we're okay together. We're not the perfect, shining couple but we're there. And I love you to pieces; I can't imagine a world without you. And can I also tell you how thankful I am that you'll never be able to recall this soppy speech?' I said and she didn't even move. I sighed.

'If I die when I got shot, please don't sit around moping over me. Raise Nic properly, in Windsor, Ella and Joe will help you, and you have my entire family who will help and you have your family too,' I whispered to her, gently pushing her hair from her face. 'I hope it doesn't but... I don't know if what I'm doing is right. I don't know if I'm changing the plan or if I'm ruining it, but hopefully I'm not. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and you were coping,' I told her softly. 'You're asleep; you won't even know I've been here,'

'Ella once asked me, I saw once it was a few weeks ago. It was one of the days that I had to be at base rather than with you at school; Ella was there with me. We were just doing paperwork, but she asked me what I really wanted from this. And I wasn't too sure, because you're all I wanted. I never wanted long walks on the beach and romantic holidays, I just wanted... domesticated life, you know? I wanted to stay in on weekends, cook dinner, get a dog and take the dog out for walks or get a cat and play with the cat. Admittedly I never thought a kid would come along this quick, but I love Nic like you do – she is our daughter. I know I made a mistake with her, I wasn't there for her for four years and I regret that. I wanted to hold her when she was born; I wanted to teach her how to walk. I wanted to watch her say her first words. But even now, just seeing her is just incredible. And one day, we might just get our own child and we will both be able to hold our baby, teach them to walk, the sleepless nights together.' I told her before sighing, realising I needed to get out of here – for her safety more than mine.

'I love you, Sam, I'm so sorry for doing all of this,' I said to her, kissing her forehead. 'I love you,'

I got up again, walking out but I took one last look at her, my girlfriend, my Soulfinder, my life. She was still fast asleep, but she looked so sad – worried. I sighed, opening the door and walking out but it felt like I was tearing myself apart as I left her closed up in that room. It could be the last time I see her.

Trying not to dwell on it, I walked down the stairs again, walking along three closed door before stopping at the forth; it was right next to the stairs and it was Will's childhood bedroom where Ella said Nic was sleeping with Lily. Gently, I opened the door. I knew that Joe must have put the two kids to bed too, persuading them to sleep until morning, or at least to a certain extent. I wondered how much Nic knew, though, she was incredibly smart but she was used to me going to work at all odd hours and I wondered if she knew something more sinister was happening.

Nic was on the right side of the bed, duvet half off, curled up into herself. I walked straight over to her, my daughter, and kissed her cheek, pulling the duvet up to her.

'Nic, I love you pumpkin. I'm sorry I've been a terrible Dad to you, for not being there for you when you were born, or until recently. I'm sorry for waking you up when I go to work, or not letting you play with the trees every day like Sam made sure she did. I'm sorry I've been generally bad but believe me when I say that, I love you my little girl,'

'Daddy?' Nic whispered, stirring in her sleep. She gently opened her eyes and saw me. Crap – maybe Joe didn't put them under fully.

'Hey, sweetheart,' I whispered back.

'Is it morning yet?' She asked and I knew no one had told her about me disappearing or she would have had some kind of reaction to me being here, and not her normal sleepy state.

'No, I was just making sure you were asleep,'

'Oh, okay, the fireworks were pretty, Daddy,' She muttered to me.

'They were, weren't they?'

'Ya,'

'Go back to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow,' I told her and she nodded.

'Night Daddy, I love you,'

'I love you too, and be good to Mummy in the morning, okay, she's not feeling too well,' I told her and Nic nodded but was already half asleep like children somehow manage to do. 'Look after her for me, Nic, and if I don't see you again, know I'm proud of you.'

'Okay Daddy,' She muttered in a semi-awake state and I kissed her forehead, hugging her slightly awkwardly in her sleep. She didn't even realise something was up. I didn't need to clear her brain from remembering me as I doubt she would remember in the morning.

I snuck back out the bedroom, pulling the door too before I walked down the stairs again and into the kitchen where Ella was standing awkwardly.

'Don't over think this Ella,' I told her immediately.

'Try not to over think what? The fact you could be dead in a few hours? Or...'

'Ella, you're really not helping,' I said walking up to her and hugging her tight, lifting her off the ground.

'I'm sorry for being an asshole to you, but I am super proud of you and what you've achieved, and of Lily and Charlie and occasionally Joe,'

'Don't do this,' Ella whispered in tears, 'Don't make it sound like this is the last time you'll see me,'

'We don't know,'

'We know you're not going to die,' Ella stuttered but I knew she was hesitant. I had to keep it together for her.

'Sucks being on the receiving end of this, doesn't it? You're used to being the one who the crap happens too. My time to shine,' I said to her. 'I'll be fine, I promise you. If I wasn't around, who would nag you to do work and protest when you're inevitably pregnant again?' I joked and she smiled weakly.

'I'll be off,' I said, holding her and kissing her forehead. She held out a flask to me and I raised an eyebrow.

'We think they have your house under surveillance so head there, get changed, and head back into town, and go the back route back up onto the mountain, I'd be surprised if they didn't catch you again. I'll see you on the mountain when it all kicks off. Wear something warm as well, God damn it, can't have two of us freezing our tits off,' Ella said, 'I made you a coffee for the walk,'

'Thanks, Ella, love you little sis,'

'Love you too, big brother who is always watching,' I smiled at her before leaving the house, holding back tears and the complete whitewash of emotion and despair. I stopped by the gate, looking in at her as she watched anxiously out the window. I closed my eyes, dipping into Ella's brain and wiping the memory of me being there, and directed her to go to bed in five seconds time – which would give me time to head out. I backed out, seeing a vacant expression on her face and I knew it work and the gate closed on my life as I knew it as I pivoted on the spot and headed into the unknown.


	50. Chapter 49

Chapter 49 - ?

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the bitter cold air, as I watched him walk down the road. How stupid is this dick was the only thought I had to myself as I crouched behind my rental car – I had permission to be out at this time of night from my superiors but my job was to keep an eye on his house - their house – to make sure no one returned home. I didn't expect Sam to come home with Nic, and she didn't. A simple move like that simply proved her love and affection towards Michael and it caused a lead weight in my stomach. They're sickening. But Michael was just returning home after being abducted and dumped in the middle of the woods? How stupid was he? Why was he even up? Who gets abducted then goes home to, what, nap? Have a shower?

He didn't follow the plan. He was meant to run into the Benedict's house with a massive statement about crime infringement or something, and how tragic his life must be, which would bring the Benedict's out and we would capture the two families that we had wanted to... _contain_ for over twenty years in one go. But instead, he stops by Starbucks and grabs a coffee and heads home? I was spluttering over his level of stupidity. And he was one of the highest in Maui. I wondered how he got that high up. Did he sleep his way to the top?

He took a sip of his coffee, scanning the environment before walking down his driveway. Michael was still in the clothes we changed him into and I wondered if he noticed the symbolism. He was wearing the same clothes his sister was when she was hours away from her execution. I still think Ella's death would have done him some good, knocked him down a few pegs, take the air out of his sails and hopefully bring him down onto Earth. But that scum of the Earth escaped like everyone else. Apart from Dixon, who has been renamed and relocated. Of course, we had to let everyone believe she died, but no. She's perfectly healthy, living within Kingdom. I believe her number is around the five thousand mark, and she was integrated into cleaning staff until they found out her gift. Now she works for the big man himself at the top. I sniggered to myself – big man made him sound like Santa. The target turned around on the sound as I ducked a bit further, but a few seconds later I heard the crunch of snow as the dumbass walked away.

Michael opened the door, quickly scanning the exterior of the house before sweeping the road – thankfully my car blocked him from seeing me, however I was spoiling for a fight with him – and we went into the house. I pulled out my Nokia brick phone and dialled the only number that was saved.

'Any news, agent?'

'He arrived home moments ago with a coffee. Want me to take him out?' I asked.

'No, don't be so stupid. I want to punish my daughters and their so called family. They must see him being taken out; know the cost of betraying me,' He sighed down the phone and I hesitate. That was cruel. It sickened me that Sam would see that.

'What's wrong, agent; you're not feeling... remorse for my eldest daughter, are you?' He muttered down the phone.

Yes, of course I was feeling remorse.

Sam had always meant something to be before I realised the crucial bit of information about her, and when I did I wanted to protect her. I love her and the boss man knows that, and he told me that if I did this and kept all of this to myself, and I done my work, Sam would be safe. He didn't refer to her as Sam the first time walked, but rather her birth name. A name I didn't even recognise – but it suited her. I was only about twelve when I realised the connection, when the Boss man spoke to me about her. He explained how his wife became pregnant with twins, and the midwife said they'd both be boys and was rudely shocked at the birth, when the first born, his first child, was a girl. He always fathered the boy, he wanted a reasonable heir and a sidekick and no female would do that.

So he waited until the girl was old enough, and dumped her away at a school. He didn't give two shits about her no more, but he still watched her, hoping she would become a good asset. Of course, his wife got pregnant second time around with another daughter, but this time his empire was bigger and stronger and he saw a need for a daughter; to become his maid and slave to serve to his every need. Once his wife was... disposed, shall we say he took the young girl with him leaving "Sam" as an orphan at Blakeley. Safe enough to ensure a good upbringing, but not so safe she would have freedom. She would grow up under authority, learn her place within Blakeley before being moved back to Kingdom, I would assume.

He found me at Blakeley too through a link. He offered me money, lots of it, and happiness and a rewarding career if I kept an eye out for Sam. I accepted, I wanted to protect her. I left her for four years whilst I completed my degree and trained at Kingdom too, and went back and was able to guard her. She had grown up; she had faced demons in that time. But I was able to care for her. I had fallen in love with her during that time too. But, one day, as I told her to meet me in my new classroom to tell her how I felt, I got a phone call from the Boss telling me to keep an eye on the new asset coming her way, and she never turned up, however when I went to see if she was okay, she was holding a small child – a few months old, perhaps, very small and feeble. Four years from then to now, and she told me relentless times she wasn't ready for a relationship, that she had to focus on Nic first but in the future – "who knows?" what could happen. I was okay to wait.

However, one day, that monster with his coffee showed up, claimed Sam as his own and Nic as his daughter, claimed they were Soulfinder's and I lost my Sam forever. I punched the car in anger. She was always meant to be mine, God damn it, and here he is stealing her! No – he deserves this. He deserves what's coming to him.

'Does she have to be there, though, I agree take him down, but in front of Sam?'

'I don't like the name "Sam," for her,' He said tastelessly, like he had a sip of stale tea, 'It doesn't suit her but yes, she needs to be taken down a few pegs too. He's taught her bad habits that she must drop before she can return to Kingdom. I kept the wrong daughter on board. I should have kept "Sam" as you call her, not Lucy. She turned soft, she's not who I raised.' He tutted almost disgraced. 'Seeing her Soulfinder die in front of her will do her good, it will drive her back to you.'

'You think?' I asked hopefully. I wanted my Sam back.

'I know, agent, I know it will. After all, Nic is as every bit your daughter as she is Sam's – keep an eye on Michael, tell me his location. We might have to bring executioner's point forward a bit,' And with that he hung up the phone.

The comment packed a punch but I gritted my teeth and put my phone in my pocket and I reminded myself that this is how it should be; two people raising their kid together, without any interference. Everyone always used to say that to both of us in Blakeley. Aways said it would be Tobias and Sam, me and Sam, both of us together with Nic. Everyone used to ask me when I would have the balls to ask her out and I said she was focused on Nic at the moment. When she starts school properly, then I would ask her. But too late. Michael claimed Nic as his own daughter and Sam like they were _his_ property. I wanted to claim them back.

Like Boss said, Nic had a vague link to Sam through Michael, and I had the same link through Brooklyn to Nic. If Sam can call Nic her daughter because of the Soulfinder link to Michael who was the biological father; I can call Nic my daughter too, as Brooklyn was my now dead Soulfinder. I had to do it for Brooklyn. It still hurt on so many levels she sent the letter to Michael telling him where to find his daughter, rather than telling me that she had passed on and to look after Nic myself. So I will do everything I can to protect my daughter, even if it means pulling the trigger on her biological Dad myself.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\

 **Hiya!**

 **So in the run up to the end of my first semester at Uni, I have about seventeen thousand assessments and assignments to do so this might be my last update until a few days before Christmas I would assume. I know it's not a very good chapter and it's quite short and it's not even from the perspective of Sam and Nic, but Tobias. Bit of a twist, I thought, and gives it some background. I don't think many people really liked Tobias but I don't think anyone saw this coming. But hey, I never like Tobias.**

 **I hope you guys understand about the updates - although I just noticed that it's not an even number so there might be another one this weekend - but sorry! Nikki x**


	51. Chapter 50 - Sam

**Chapter 50 – Sam**

Michael is here. Or, at least I was convinced he was at some point. I startled awake as Joe's gift must have ticked to an end to find Nic asleep in my arms, happily curled up and blissfully unaware of her own Father's disappearance the night previous. But, I knew as I woke up on my own and not with Joe beside me bringing me out of the work of his gift that no one had found anything and I hit my head back down on the pillows in frustration. Somehow, both Ella's gift of projection and Trace's gift of, well, tracing, proved useless in this case and neither of them found even the most basic lead to him. I knew that now we would have to step up the game, I knew Crystal would try and track him down using our Soulfinder bond, and Uriel and Ella would have a go combined to go back to the firework show and hunt him down by physically following him.

But if he wasn't here – why was I convinced he was?

It felt like he has visited me during my sleep, almost like an angel. I can remember hearing his voice, telling me things I had never heard before so it wasn't like my dream made it up. It felt like when we had just moved in and we were still getting to know each other properly. We moving in together were a risky move but it had felt so right, that even the awkward silences weren't awkward but comforting. At night, when Michael used to sit up to finish his work and I was somewhere between falling asleep and being awake, Michael used to gently talk to me. It was incredibly relaxing and even though he used to tell me through stories from his childhood which weren't relevant now, it has a nice effect on me and I woke up happy and content. That is what it felt like.

I could recall him telling me about the letter he had received that first told him about Nic, however, he had told me that before. I had pestered him into telling me how he found out about Nic. Michael was stubborn over that one, saying it doesn't matter how he found out, but it mattered that he did and here he was now. I knew he didn't like mentioning Brooklyn around me as it just emphasised and rubbed in my face that Nic wasn't my daughter and it would forever be on her adoption certificate just that – she was adopted. Well, Michael was trying to figure out a way to track down when she was born exactly so he can make her a birth certificate, and would then be able to put both of our names down but then I felt like a complete discredit to Brooklyn. I had been to school with her but I wasn't close. I never knew what her gift was, but she knew Michael was my Soulfinder, and I can bet you she wanted to give Nic straight to Michael but the "Gods" or whatever she said in that letter refused too – she was smart and gave Nic to me instead hoping I was as desired as most Savants are to find their other halves. I wasn't – I was more than happy with being single and having Nic and a sprinkling of good friends. Michael just happened to bump into me.

I hadn't heard what Michael had done with the letter, but angel Michael informed me; he had taken it to someone to get a slap, and that was in the form of his sister. I could see that. He told me he was too scared to go down, but he was forced to anyway, and if he didn't show up at that exact time, Nic wouldn't have been outside with her class and I wouldn't be in with my class of Year 12 students, and Nic wouldn't have ran out to him, and he most likely wouldn't have met Nic or myself and then what would have happened. He then told me all he wanted was a happy life, to be domesticated was the word the angel sleep Michael used – he wanted to get a dog or a cat and cook dinners and stay in on weekends, and he admitted he never really expected a child to be in the picture this early but he wouldn't change it.

And then, he left.

It seemed too precise to be a dream, it didn't have a fuzzy quality to it that my dreams normally do, but there was no image to it either so it wasn't one of my future seeing dreams. So it had to have happened, right? But the lack of warmth in the double bed, apart from Nic who was curled up hard into my side, and the sick feeling in my stomach told me that Michael was gone and without him, I was back to being nothing.

I felt a wave of nausea in my stomach and eased my way out of Ella's bed and into her ensuite and threw up in her toilet, retching until nothing but stringy green bile came up. Michael was gone. I knew the realisation hit me hard as I sunk to my knees, the freezing cold tiles of the bathroom floors sticking against my bare legs as I curled up. I was nothing. I flushed my puke away, telekinetically moving a toothbrush down to my level to brush my teeth, but even that movement seemed to provoke sadness – Michael had taught me how to use my telekinetic powers appropriately and concisely. I spit out the white foam, washing it down the sink as I hauled myself up and told myself it get a grip. What would Michael do in my situation? I had to ask myself. He would be strong.

There was a knock at the bathroom door and I jumped and turned around. Lucy was standing there in a pair of Winnie the Pooh pyjamas, face clear of any makeup and her hair tied back but she stilled looked beautiful. She stood slightly awkwardly, rubbing her upper arms.

'Morning,' She said to me softly. 'How are you?' She came into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

'I'm okay,' I whispered roughly, my throat burning from throwing up. Lucy looked at me, knowing I was lying but then realised why I was whispering.

'Are you ill? I can get Jason too –'

'No, I'm fine, I just... I realise that Michael is gone,' I said with tears dwelling in my throat, making it hard to breathe and talk. I bent over the sink as Lucy came up and hugged me slightly awkwardly.

'We'll get him back,' Lucy said.

'When we do, he'll get shot and then he'll be in hospital for weeks and... I just can't do this Lucy. I wanted everyday life to just be normal, you know, like it television shows. I would have even settled for the slightly hectic life that they have in "Friends" where they leave their door open and have a steady stream of visitors but instead this – why does it have to be like this?' I sobbed to her.

'Because this isn't just any normal type of relationship with any normal person, Sam, it's not like our lives have been orthodox either. You have one of the best people I can imagine out there to call your boyfriend, and the father of your Nic, but he comes with a price tag and that price tag is his job. He will do anything he can to keep the people he loves safe, and you're at the top of that list with Nic. His job is the best thing and the worst thing because crap like this can just flag up. You just have to bare it, I suppose. He's never got himself seriously injured before,' Lucy said weakly knowing both of us are fully aware he gets shot twice the next time I see him.

'I guess,' I muttered weakly back.

'You and Michael will work out, but Michael has had very limited relationship experience before. I know, hard to believe, right, so he's learning the ropes as much as you are. It will just take time to work out where both of your limits are when it comes to things like this. This is inevitable and this will happen, but it won't always be like this Sam. I know you are strong enough to make it through this with a little help from everyone, and then I promise you it will go back to domesticated life with kittens and everything,' Lucy said.

'How is your kitten?' I asked her, wanting to take my mind off of the subject but a stagnant breath caught in my lungs – like my lungs knew I should be panicking but my brain was trying to keep my calm.

'Cosmo? He's brilliant – very odd and fluffy but loves Tyler,' Lucy said, walking over to the side and putting the plug in the bath, running the taps. I frowned at her – was she just going to take a bath? She picked up some bubble bath and poured in twice the amount of bubbles it was recommended and it had already started to froth up.

'Having a cat and a child is risky?' I questioned and she nodded.

'People said we would have to get rid of the cat, but it never even crossed out minds. When Tyler was only a few hours old, Cosmo used to lie under his Moses basket and gently purred and even now – Tyler's cot is beside a shelf, Cosmo has his bed there so he is constantly with Tyler. Tyler seems fascinated with him,' Lucy smiled to herself, before watching the water level of the bath rise. She put her hand in and swirled it around. 'Get in then?'

'What?'

'I ran you a bath, get in,'

'But... you're here?'

'We're sisters, its fine. This is what sisters do apparently, they care for each other and you haven't had a shower since two days ago, and you've just thrown up. You're having a bath. I will personally wash your hair if you're too lazy to do that yourself,' Lucy protested. 'You also need to wash that shirt; you got puke all over it,'

'How are you so calm around puke?' I asked as she turned her back, knowing she wouldn't give up on this so easily I whipped off my shirt, throwing it in the washing bin, before taking off my shorts and my underwear and climbing into the bath – it was lavender scented and there was so many bubbles that it covered any areas I wished to hide from Lucy.

'I have a nearly four month old son, and a very lazy fiancé who more often than not will hand over the baby puke clothing to me to deal with. I'm very much used to this level of gross.' Lucy said, turning back around and sitting on the vanity cabinet beside me.

'Was Tyler a mistake?' I asked her and she shook her head.

'Planned,'

'But you and Jason hadn't been together long that was a risk, surely?' I asked and Lucy sighed slightly.

'Yeah, it was, but when I grew up I had no real family, I mean I had Brother, but he didn't count. I didn't know you existed until recently, and I had Father too but he didn't count either. All I wanted wasn't a successful career or loads of money, I wanted a family. If I didn't have anyone I could look up too, I wanted people who look up to me. I wanted a family of my own one way or another. I had never even considered that I might have an older sister. I thought I had no one. I mean, I would have been able to settle for Jason's family, but Jason himself has no immediate family he could have counted on at that time. His mother disowned him for being a Savant, so did his older sister and he knew nothing of his Dad until after I met him, so I had my mind fixed on having a baby. Jason found out and was up for it – he had become increasingly broody after Lily was born according to Joe, so I think he wanted a child too. Jason got me a cat to baby, but we both just one night decided that's it – we're trying for a baby. We didn't overly care what anyone thought, we weren't close to anyone. My two friends at that time weren't talking to me after the whole kidnapping instance, and Jason's Dad couldn't overly speak about family advice considering he didn't know Jason existed – although to Isaac's defence he was told Jason died when he was three days old and even when I confined in Ella, she couldn't judge either because Lily was the opposite thing to planned ever. Three weeks after we decided to try, I took a test when I was late and I was three weeks pregnant and that was it really,'

It had felt good hearing someone else's story, seeing how they got over their own obstacles.

'So when I say you can get over something like that, I'm not saying it'll happen overnight, but giving it time you'll get what you always wanted,' She said. 'How did you sleep?'

'Perfect, thanks to Joe,' I sighed, dipping my hair underwater to get it wet – the bath felt so good and soothed away some of the anxiety that I had. Within the panic of the last few days I never had time to have a good bath like I used to – I had washed up hair once or twice or jumped in the shower for a few minutes to wash away the grime but that's it. The last time I had a proper bath was when Michael made me one in the log cabin before we went to get Nic. I remembered him sitting beside me as I sat in the bath – I wasn't worried about the bubbles covering anything then – as we had a very soft conversation as he gently played with my hair and he gave me a look, the same look you see at the altar of a happy couple – it was pure love. I would do anything to see that look again.

'He does have a very unique gift – he uses it on Ella when she's being annoying apparently,' Lucy said, 'Thank God all Jason does is heal,'

'Michael hasn't really used his gift on me,' I said.

'He doesn't use his gift often, he doesn't like how powerful it is and how little control he has so he just doesn't use it. Joe used to struggle with control too – Joe and Michael's gifts are near enough identical – but Joe found control when he found Ella. Michael might find how to control it with you around,'

'He hasn't tried,'

'He's terrified of using his gift, that's why, when he was thirteen he removed six kids memories who bullied him by getting angry, and one of them never fully recovered. Ever since then, for obvious reasons he's never really used it,'

Oh – Michael had never told me that. He removed six peopled memories and one never recovered? I assume intellectually recovered, never quite learnt English again all because of Michaels control or lack of it. I wondered why he never told me – could it be he was scared if he told me I would leave, or be so concerned I would pack up Nic's bags too and take her with me?

'But Joe –'

'Joe's older sister forced him to learn control from the age of five when his family realised what his gift was – he did something similar, he was so interested in The Very Hungry Caterpillar book that he forgot his control and removed his presence from every single student in the room and every single teacher. His family had to relocate because of it, and his older sister taught him how to control to an extent, Ella provided the rest,'

There was a knock on the door and I jumped slightly, and Lucy looked up frowning.

'Luce,' I heard Jason say softly from the other side of the door, loud enough for us to both hear him and understand it was him but not loud enough to wake up Nic, who must have been sleeping like a log on the bed still. 'Can you come out here providing you're decent, well, either way come out here,' Jason said and Lucy rolled her eyes.

'Give me a moment to deal with this idiot,' Lucy said softly, getting up and sliding out the room, closing the door behind me. I could hear them gently talking but I wasn't entirely sure what they were saying. I took the moment to put some shampoo in my hair, massaging it in and washing it away like I was washing away every bit of worry. I trusted these people more than anyone I had ever trusted, and I knew their work was good. None of them got to the status they were known for within the Savant Net for no reason. So if they were going to hunt down Michael within the town they grew up in, I should trust them fully. I wasn't entirely sure what I was scared of – Michael being missing or his inevitable shooting. At least there were plans for the shooting compared to his impromptu disappearance. But once again, I trusted their plans.

If there was one time in this life time that I just had to hand over fate to someone else rather than try and keep hold of it me it would be now.

Lucy slid back into the room, taking a moment to close the door slowly. She looked slightly tense, looking over at me before jumping up onto the vanity cabinet.

'What's happened?'

'Nothing has happened,' Lucy lied to me and I flinched – her lie hurt me.

'I know when you're lying – what happened,'

'Jason is concerned about your health, he said he knows you're not coping and he knows you have some sort of underlying medical condition like a cold or something, but he also picked up that someone in the middle of the night, I say middle about three this morning, had wiped part of Ella's memory. She has no idea what happened, she knew she was up late and then woke up in bed with Joe like normal, but Joe was asleep the entire time,' Lucy said waiting for me to click on.

'Michael was here?' I asked shocked.

'Most likely,'

'Then why did he go again? Where did he go? Why didn't he wake me up?' I aggressively questioned her, sitting forward in the bath.

'Sam, rearrange your bubbles please,' Lucy said and I did what she said, gathering back my modesty as Lucy nodded. 'We have no idea, honestly, what had happened.'

'I thought I had a dream that Michael came, I heard him tell me stories and before he just left – what if it wasn't a dream?'

'You heard him?' Lucy asked.

'Yeah, it sounded like he was beside me and he was telling me how he got that letter from Brooklyn and... what if he did come and say all of that to me, how much he loved me and Nic and I just had to trust him and everyone else after he got shot, what if he did say that but because I was under from Joe I couldn't wake up?' I asked her, sitting forward more.

'Bubbles, Sam, we're close but I don't think we're that close yet,' Lucy said, putting her hand up as I slunk back down into the bath, covering my chest with yet more bubbles. 'Bad idea to run you a bath, but what you said isn't a totally bad idea. Er, I'll go speak to Vick and Chris downstairs about what you said and see what they think; there's a chance Uri can remove the mask on Ella's brain to see why he was here and where we went and why, but we don't know yet. It's still really early.' Lucy sighed. 'Even Tyler isn't up yet,'

'Thank you,' I said to Lucy but I was thanking her for way more than running me a bath and keeping me company and she knew I was. She squeezed my shoulder as she jumped down from the vanity cabinet.

'Anytime, sis,' She said sweetly before curling out of the door before and I was left alone. I rinsed off the suds from the bubbles and the remaining shampoo, before pulling the plug on the bath. I climbed out, wrapping a towel around my body but also around my hair. I noted to myself that I had lost a bit of weight – the excess material around the waist of my favourite used-to-be-snug jeans told me that I had too – but since I found Nic and we came over here I must have put on a pound or two and I felt a bit happier. I never wanted to slip back into the darkness of an eating disorder, and when I noticed how much weight I lost from the stress of losing Nic I had started to panic. Now, however, I had to fight against the overwhelming darkness of potentially losing Michael. Those few pounds I had gained from takeout food and delicious meals that Michael cooked for me I had to keep.

I left the bedroom, closing the door behind me and I heard a yawn from the bed. Nic was rubbing her eyes having only just woken up as she looked at me sleepily.

'Mummy?'

'Hey, sweetheart,' I said to her.

'Where's Daddy?' She asked straight in with the hard questions. I sighed.

'He's gone missing, sweetheart, during the firework show. All of your Uncle and Aunts are looking for him now, though, so don't worry too much,' I told her, hugging her to my side but she frowned.

'But he was here last night?' Nic questioned.

'What... what do you mean?' I asked.

'I was sleeping and he came into my room and said something to me and I woke up and he told me I had to... to be good for you when he was busy and that he loves me, and to go back to sleep so I did – so how can he be missing when he was here?' Nic asked me.

'Very good question, pumpkin, you might have to go and ask uncle Vick that question,' I said, getting up and pulling out some warm clothes for today, even though someone had already set them out on the chair by the desk. Nic sat on the bed, fiddling with the sheets as I dropped the towel and wiggled into a fresh set of clothes that were left for me – a pair of thermal leggings, with a vest top, a long sleeved shirt and a jumper. Not the finest look but at the moment I didn't care.

'Uncle Victor scares me though,' Nic muttered as someone knocked on the semi-opened door.

'He scares us too, Nic,' Trace said softly and I blushed – a few moments earlier and I would have been naked. 'Sorry to bother you, are you free in the moment? We're all in the kitchen,' Trace asked slashed ordered and I nodded. 'What scares you about Uncle Vick then, hmm?' Trace asked Nic softly, sitting on the edge of the bed as I ran a brush through my hair and pulled a pair of thick woolly socks on.

'He's just... scary. He looks evil. I don't want to tell him about Daddy, Mummy,' Nic said, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. Trace frowned.

'Why don't you tell me then, Nic, and I'll tell him for you?' Trace said sweetly and Nic looked up at me. I nodded at her.

'Daddy was here last night, Uncle Trace, he came into my bedroom when I was sleeping and told me he loved me and I had to be good, and he would see me soon,' Nic said and Trace frowned.

'Do you know what time this happened?' He asked Nic and she shook her head.

'It was dark.' Was all she could say.

'Oh,' Trace replied, 'I'll run down and tell Uncle Vick this, come down whenever you're ready Sam,' He said sweetly to me but I knew his mind was running when he found out about Michael being here last night – that must be why he wanted me down in the kitchen to start with. To talk about Michael.

'Did I do a bad thing?' Nic asked me, sitting slightly funny in the middle of the large double bed.

'Of course you didn't, come on, let's go see what your Uncle's want,' I said to her sweetly, picking her off the bed and carrying her on my waist.

'I can't keep carrying you like this,' I told her as she hugged me.

'Especially when you have your own baby,' Nic sighed. 'I heard Ella and Joe talking about babies and... you might have one too, and then you won't carry me anymore, that's what Lily said too,' Nic said. 'Since Charlie came, Uncle Joe and Auntie Ella don't carry her like this,'

'Well, that's because Charlie can't move any other way yet. Don't worry, though, I don't want a baby just yet. You're good enough for me,' I said to her kissing her forehead as I made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Everyone was already there – gathered around the table with laptops out already, people standing around leaning on work tops but everyone was in pyjamas.

'Is everyone okay?' I asked as I noticed the concerned looks of everyone – even Ella was in the corner under Joe's arms biting the corner of her thumb in a nervous gesture.

'We have no idea what has happened to Michael,' Vick told me and my heart dropped completely.

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'Someone can't just vanish of the face of the Earth, Ella!' I whisper shouted to her. She had taken me out of the house to go and grab a coffee before heading down to our places to grab some more clothes. I knew some of the Benedict's were coming for the latter part as look outs, and Ella wanted me to pack down a hospital bag for Michael and myself, and another bag of Nic's stuff that she could keep for when the shooting does happen. I told her that I thought it would be better if Ella looked after Nic whilst Michael was in hospital as it would only distress her to all knew levels.

'I know, God, I wish I could just remember what happened, or he trusted me enough to let me remember and help him,' Ella said, looking out the window with tears dwelling in her eyes.

'He was trying to keep you safe, but he could have at least left some form of direction as to where he went,' I protested.

'It's bullshit,'

'You're stupid brother,' I mocked and she smiled softly.

'Hey, he's your Soulfinder, your business now,' Ella said, getting up now we had drained a tiny bit of scolding liquid from our take away mugs. She pressed a button on her car keys, which beeped open the car and I climbed into the passenger seat. It had just turned two in the afternoon; we had talked about everything this morning, and they had tried all routes to find Michael including hacking all CCTV cameras's within the area, projecting to find him, tracing him down again from the teddy, and nothing. Uriel couldn't remove the mind wiping Ella had undergone either. We were both so stressed, Karla told Ella and me to go and grab some more clothing to get us out the house and she would look after the girls temporarily for us. Ella reversed out o the parking bay and onto the main road, driving down to the house. I noticed at some point during the journey, a giant Jeep was following us; a four by four truck designed for the mountains. Ella quickly put on her hazard lights and the car behind flashed.

'They caught up quick,' I commented, realising that it must have been the rest of the Benedict's.

'I told them we were leaving before we did,' Ella said, pulling up onto the driveway of her house. 'We'll grab the clothes from here first; it gives them time to check through your house for any signs of Michael,' Ella said and I look a jaggered breath in. Even a mention of him now was starting to hurt. I knew the statistics; the chances of finding someone who goes missing alive after six hours is halved, and after twelve hours it's halved again. It was coming up to eighteen hours since he went missing and the chances of him being okay in the bitter winter weather was diminishing. At this rate, he could die of hypothermia before we find him alive or before the shoot off.

Ella got out the car first and I followed her lead, slamming the door behind me. I watched as two of the mountain Jeeps pulled up on the front curb outside the house, with Zed, Trace, Vick and Uriel all getting out the cars heading towards the house. Trace gently smiled at me with sympathy in his eyes, and Zed mouthed something to me that I didn't quite get, before Ella tugged my arm towards the house.

'You can just, make yourself at home, I won't be too long,' Ella said, jumping up a few stairs at a time and heading into one of the bedrooms and I stood in the hallway unsure of what to do. I had felt dormant this entire time, not sure what to do with myself. I was constantly fiddling around nervously, and I was on edge. Everytime something made a noise I would jump and immediately try and find what it was. Everyone was tiptoeing around me, making sure I wasn't breaking on them but the truth was I was already broken. That had happened the moment I realised Michael was missing. The sense of doom in the pit of my stomach and the way my heart felt like someone had put a hundred hair bands around it, but at the same time it was beating out of my chest. It was evident in the shake of my hand like I was a drug addict awaiting my next hit. I guess that was the best way to describe what it felt like; Michael to me was a highly addictive drug and I was completely dependent on the drug and now I was having extreme withdrawals from it. And I knew I would see him again, but when I saw him he would get shot. A part of me wanted to never see him again because then at least he would be safe. I knew it wasn't rational but I didn't want him to get hurt. What if I could get in front of him before the gun fires?

'Sam?' Ella asked and I jumped. How long was I out of it, planning heroic endings for myself? I decided if Nic had to only have one parent it would have to be Michael – he was so good for her and had taught her so much already. So if it came down to it, I would willingly get myself shot before he could react. 'Please say you haven't been standing there for nearly twenty minutes?' Ella asked and I noticed she had already packed down two holdalls of clothes – one for her and Joe, and the other for Charlie and Lily, and there were at the bottom of the stairs.

'Er, maybe,' I muttered and Ella frowned slightly, pulling me in for a hug.

'He'll be alright,' Ella said but she was uncertain.

'I hope,' I said as Ella picked up both of the bags, gently sighing as she opened the door letting me go first. She unlocked the car and I walked over and opened the boot. The conversation almost seemed a little stale between us; both of us were awkward – or completely immersed in our own thoughts that it we couldn't overly speak. But it was okay; we both understood the pain of each other so neither of went to make small talk. We walked over towards my house, locking the door as we walked away, and I entered the house.

'Anything?' Ella asked Zed as he stood in the kitchen.

'You can go and pack down your stuff, Sam,' Zed said, smiling softly. 'We bought the bags down from the top of the wardrobe,'

'What did you find?' I asked, knowing he was trying to get me out of the way so he could talk to Ella – so they had found something about him.

'You're smart,' Zed sighed, walking into the kitchen. The table was covered in evidence bags and my heart stopped.

'There were these in the washing machine that weren't here yesterday, and also a travel mug that came from our house, so Michael did go there last night. Ella, you gave him this, telling him to come down here and get changed, and he removed the memory of him being there from you as he left. He walked the far away around the town with the mug, before getting changed and leaving this in the sink as he left via the garden,' Trace said, 'I haven't got around to the clothes, but Ella, when you were found in Norway after being kidnapped, you lot were all in these clothes. So it's Kingdom who had done this,'

'I thought we knew Kingdom had done this,' I asked and Trace nodded.

'We knew it, but we had to prove it, this will give enough evidence,'

'But is still doesn't track him down, though, we still have no idea where he is,'

'No,' Trace said.

'So what use is this?' I asked, and Trace looked at Ella. 'We need to find him, we can wait to prove who this is to the court later, but we need him safe first.' I said in tears. 'He might be dead by the time we find him at this rate,'

'He won't be dead,' Ella whispered.

'You don't know, Ella, but you know how long you can survive in this cold weather for without having hypothermia, and only you can last twenty four hours because you're had all your life to adapt to the cold. Michael hasn't. He won't be alive by tonight if we don't find him,' I croaked, heading upstairs in tears.

They left me alone; someone must have let the others off that I didn't want to see anyone. I sat in my bedroom, folding down shirts and jeans, underwear and other essentials for both me and Michael grizzling the entire time. It had already felt like I had lost him. I got up to go and grab some more clothes when I saw Ella get into the car on the drive way and reverse away and I sighed.

The silence was rudely interrupted when there was a knock at the door; I turned and saw Zed standing there awkwardly.

'Where is Ella going?' I asked.

'She's got the clothing and the mug, she's taking them back home to be filed,' Zed said. 'You seem like you're fine, but there is so much going through your head,'

'Yeah, wonder why,' I whispered.

Zed just looked at me, nodding slightly before coming forward and pulling me into a bear hug and I broke down, crying into his chest. Zed didn't tell me everything will be okay, but rather just hugged me and gave me somewhere to take shelter. He led me to the bed, sitting on the edge as I continued to cry. I must have cried for at least an hour as the sun was casting long shadows, and Zed looked slightly awkward but I had completely cried myself out and felt calmer and a bit more rational.

'Sorry,' I sighed.

'Don't be sorry, you're hurting, it's normal,' Zed told me sweetly. 'I'll help you pack the rest of the bags so you can go and find Nic,' Zed got up and waited for me to say something.

'Thank you,'

'What do you want me to do?'

'Can you go and pack some stuff for Nic, please?' I asked him and he nodded, walking out of the room and down the hallway as I started to shake a bit when I realised what I had completely overlooked. The sun was starting to cast long shadows? It was becoming night.

It's going to happen soon.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled out with trembling hands, whipping off the cover case just to see it was Ella calling me. I declined the call, knowing whatever information she had can wait. However, she called me back in seconds. I then answered.

'Sam, you need to get back to the house,' Ella said with a sense of urgency.

'Why?'

'Nic and Lily are gone too – it's happening,'

Hello!

I know I said I wouldn't update until around Christmas and I have been incredibly busy (I have deadlines all next week,) but it was really bugging me that it was on 49 chapters and not 50, so here's chapter 50, but also if anyone noticed, Lily's birthday was Thursday, which is the 8th December and I couldn't resist! I'm not too sure if I will be able to continue this as it feels like people have gone off it but we'll see how it goes.


	52. Chapter 51 - Michael

**Chapter 51 – Michael**

I knew I was being watched in the house; there was a dodging looking battered car parked out the front with a man standing by it, and the second I turned into the street he ducked behind it. I could still see his fogged breath as he watched me though, but I pretended not to look. It was hard when he was being so obvious.

I unlocked the door, kicking it shut behind me before kicking off the useless frozen canvas shoes, whipping off my wet clothes – the denim jacket, the jeans, white tee and the weird scarf thing before carrying them all to the washing machine, throwing them in there and closing the door. I placed the travel mug in the sink as I had drained the whole thing, the warmth being a very welcome addition to my body.

Personally, I loved the way Ella thinks and even thinking about the travel mug in this situation would never have crossed my mind. However, I couldn't stay here long. Not with the car outside, recording my every move. I walked over to the window in the lounge and saw the man, with a thick coat with the hood up on the phone and I knew I would have to be out of here within the next ten minutes before he could call back up. I flicked the kettle on before running upstairs, grabbing a backpack from the bottom of the wardrobe, putting three shirts in there, a couple pairs of thermals, a few pairs of socks and a good book (as I would have to waste time where I'm going, may as well pack some travel reading) and I realised I was just in my boxers.

Quickly, I changed my underwear, putting on some thermal base layers before putting on a pair of jeans, a thick shirt and a jumper, before finding out one of the coats that had come for me in that delivery. Oh – and a wooly hat and some gloves. At least now I was prepared for the bitingly cold weather and was somewhat disguised.

I considered leaving a note for Sam but I knew it would be stupid so I left the room, running back downstairs, and filling my bag with food and drink; several snacky foods, including pouring some cereal into a zip lock bag, some fruit, a handful of nuts and some chocolate. A few bottles of water, and then a Coke in the top too. I managed to just about do the bag up, before realising there was still a front pocket – and I put some tea bags in the front. I'm British and I would never be parted from my supply of tea. The kettle had already boiled and I flicked it over again, finding a travel mug and a flask within the cupboard under the sink like he had at home.

Even though I was copying Ella's idea, I was very proud of myself.

I tipped some coffee granules into the flask and a few less into the mug – I think coffee when being kidnapped and on the run is a bit more productive, tea can be when I reach my temporary hiding place – before pouring a dash of milk into each of the containers, two teaspoons of sugar into the mug and six into the flask (I think it said the flask holds three cups when I bought it...) before filling them both of up with the boiling water. I screwed the lid in to the flash, clipping it onto my rucksack, before mixing my drink in the mug until it was completely dissolved, and I left the metal spoon in the mug. I had finally started to think logically and darted over to the front door, locking it and then double locking it, before jogging back into the kitchen.

Time to leave.

My rudimentary plan was rudimentary at best, but I knew I couldn't leave Wrickenridge but I had to stay sheltered until later in the day. But the place where I chose to shelter had to be nice and warm and very quiet so I didn't get recognised – and the place I had chose was the White Water Centre Saul owned. I knew the Benedict's would be so busy trying to find me that they wouldn't be at the centre, but if I was caught there by a member of staff they wouldn't think too much off it. There was also a shower facility there, as well as a common room for staff and a fully heated storage facility which I planned to break into and set up camp there. It was about a ten kilometre walk there and providing I didn't get abducted _again_ walking up there, I should be there before sunrise at half six which would give me around ten or eleven hours to calm myself down, enjoy my book and the picnic, have a shower and get changed before leaving my bag in the changing room for them to find later and try and get myself back up onto the mountain to "Executioner's Point" which I guess is where I woke up.

Without a second look at the house, trying not to see Sam and Nic in everything, I opened the back door with my mug in my hand giving me shots of warmth, I opened the door and crept out, surveying the garden – sure enough no one was around the back. I locked the door telekinetically before darting across the garden, jumping the fence and landing on the other side before I was off into the woods behind.

It took me a few hours to find exactly where I was going, and by then it had started to be light – more cars were moving around the place and as I got to the road leading to the water school, there were a few high school aged children milling around. I kept my head down and a few feet into the woodland, hoping to bypass anyone and everyone who came this direction. A truck started to rumble down the road and I walked even further into the woods, hiding behind a tree slightly. The truck was actually a Jeep and one that belonged to the school. I only briefly saw who was in the car and nearly swallowed my own tongue when I saw Chris and Cameron – Chris in the driver's seat. What are they doing here?

Of course they work here but it made this a thousand times riskier. If they saw me, they would tell everyone which would then just ruin this plan and put everyone in danger. I had already dragged Sam into this dangerous life I live, and my daughter too, I couldn't put their lives in danger any more than I already have. I sighed, wondering what to do. I knew I had to rest, I was getting tired and the numbness in my bones was telling me I had to warm up too – so it was a risk I had to take. I skirted myself off into the woods at a wider girth – when the Jeep had gone out of view I ran across the path and headed down into the woods on the other side. Fifteen minutes later, I found the storage shed I was looking for, and I picked the lock.

Warmth encased me and it was only then I realised exactly how cold I was. I dropped my bag down, and sat on the floor and grinned. I never realised my winter training I had done a few years ago would ever be useful but not I just had to sit on my arse and wait.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

I had been sitting around until the late afternoon – I didn't have any device on me that showed the time, nor was there a clock in my chosen room so I had to go based on the sun – until I decided it was time to make a move. I hard warmed up again, had some food, some water and two cups of tea and had read one of the books in my bag and debated about my life. I knew I was being harsh on myself but I wondered if I had done the right thing taking in Sam and Nic. They were only with me for a month and all this had happened and I knew the future wouldn't be easy either. If I never had met them, they would still be at Blakeley with a mediocre life and perhaps Tobias would have made a move on her by now? But the rational part of me pointed out time after time that actually Sam had told me relentless amount of times how much I've improved her life – I've given her freedom and stability and a sense of normality. I've given Nic a family, somewhere to grow up that isn't in a cramped student flat on Blakeley and even within that month I had seen her thrive. So I wasn't doing the wrong thing, but these series of events weren't fathomable. They weren't done by a rational man so we couldn't predict them and I had to stop blaming myself for this. I hope Sam wasn't blaming me for all of this though.

I got up, taking off my clothes and changing into my last set of dry clothes – a pair of thermal base layers which have turned out to be absolute life savers, over the top a pair of skinny jeans, a long sleeved burgundy jumper and a coat on top. I pulled a hat over to cover my ears and a pair of gloves, two pairs of wool socks, and then my mountain shoes back on again – thankfully they had dried out since earlier.

I surveyed the room I had stayed in for a good amount of time, with my clothes hanging up to dry and my backpack against the wall which was clearly noticeable whenever someone would come in within the future and sighed. It had done me well, this small room, and I knew it would be the last room I would be in before I was shot. I had now a six mile walk to "Executioner's Point," and I had to do it in a quick pace.

It would be so rude to be late for your down death.

Two hours later, I had come across the trees with the carvings which signalled I was nearing the Benedict's house and I was impressed with my mountaineering skills and noted to myself to add it to my CV when I was back home, but I gave the house a wide birth. I ran across the road, darting in between the trees until I was certain that if anyone saw me, they wouldn't have been able to keep up with me. The roads leading up here were well grounded down – not only had cars gone up and down but trucks, large heavy vehicles which didn't match the prints of any of the Benedict's cars. My executioners were here, then, they had arrived early. Perhaps to set up? I don't think they knew that I was prepared for this, and I had already said goodbye to those who mean the most to me, and had already left notes in case this doesn't go to plan but fingers crossed it would.

The thing that upset me the most was that Sam will never know how much she truly means to me. I tried to tell her time and time again but she doesn't comprehend what I'm on about fully. She doesn't understand that she is the World to me and I would give up this entire life – I would give up Maui, quit and call it a day – if it meant she would be happy. I would give up everything I knew to make sure she was safe. I would marry her in the blink of an eye and I considered proposing to her earlier in that shed but the only thing that stopped me was the fear of her saying no. It was both what we wanted, we had discussed it before how we wanted one day for us to be married and had children of our own and the domesticated life that both of us would benefit from, and not to mention that dream of us getting married, but Sam doesn't understand what I feel for her and that was enough to kill me.

I heard a scream and my head shot up, turning my head to try and figure out where it came from. It was from a young girl and my heart sunk but I didn't know where it was from. Did I make it up? I looked around but there was no one around. I closed my eyes and tried to find any minds nearby but there was nothing. Perhaps I did make it up? I still stood there for another few minutes, waiting for any other noises but apart from a bird, there was nothing and I started to make my way up the hill.

Ten minutes later, another scream and this time I knew I wasn't making it up. I started to run to where I thought I heard the noise.

'Daddy!'

Nic. Who the Hell had Nic and what are they doing to her to make her panic and scream that much? I was furious and scared, adrenaline pumping through me as I ran faster than I have ever before. Where was she? Where was Nic? Why did they have to bring Nic into this?

'Daddy, help!'

She was closer, but I kept running towards her, noticing the trees as I ran up the hill – they had the same marking on as before and I knew I was heading to "Executioner's Point" and my heart sunk even further into my chest than I thought was possible. They had Nic at "Executioner's Point" – I needed to get her out of there before she gets hurt.

'Please,' I heard Nic shout in tears. Hang on, baby girl, I thought to her but I knew she hadn't learnt how to speak telepathically yet, or at least not well enough, and shouting back would risk injury to both her and myself so I kept running. I broke into the clearing, seeing both Lily and Nic standing together, hugging, both in tears. I picked them both up, hugging them tight.

'I'm here now, I'm here,' I told Nic as she sobbed into me, hugging me tight. Lily did the same and I tried to find someone in the trees. 'Where are they, Nic?' I muttered.

'They're just behind the trees, I can sense them, they made me call you,' Nic hiccupped back still sobbing.

'They'll shoot you if you make a run for it,' Lily said, crying into my shoulder.

I nodded, kissing both of their foreheads before putting them down on the floor, kneeling down.

'Is Mummy coming?' I asked Lily every so softly so no one could hear apart from her and she nodded, wiping her eyes.

'She's coming with Auntie Sam too,' Lily replied and I nodded.

'What about Jason?'

'They're coming up now,' Lily whispered and I grinned at her. She was an incredible good child.

'Nic, I need you to stand behind me and don't move and do whatever you think is correct, these men are very naughty, and whatever they say might be a lie, so if you want to use your gift of them, you can, but just stay behind me and I love you, okay?' I whispered to Nic and she nodded.

'I love you too Daddy,'

'I love you too, Lils,' I told my niece and she repeated it back to me but both of the kids were absolutely distraught.

'And here he is, the man himself,' I heard someone say and noticed a man coming out from the tree line. He was around five foot eleven, with a formal designer suit with a black tie pinned down with a silver clasp, and his formal shoes replaced with some mountain snow boots which didn't compliment the look. His greying hair detracted from his somewhat dodgy tan and falsely white teeth, but I knew straight away who he was. I could see a bit of Sam in him. Luman Carnes. He straightened his tie and I noticed a few people loitering in the tree line, all in black clothes but it stuck out against the white snow. 'I expect you to call me Dad, as I am your father in law, well; so to speak I am,'

'You're nothing to Sam,' I said, pushing the kids behind me softly.

'Haha, you're very protective over that slut,' He said.

'Don't you dare,' I protested immediately.

'You can't tell me what to do, Michael, you never have. Nor your parents. They tried, but let's see where that got them. They pushed me one step too far so of course I had to dispose of them. I didn't want to kill all of the kids, though, that was an accident. I wanted to acquire all seven of you and raise you in Kingdom,' My heart was racing. 'Two out of seven wasn't bad – and then those two fled when you got your kids back, two of my loyalist staff betrayed me. Guess betrayal runs in your blood steam, Mr. Evans,'

'What do you want,' I asked but not questioned and he frowned. I had enough listening to his bullshit.

'Where is your wife?'

'We're not married,'

'Not yet, I hear, but I'm sure it's a done deal. And this must be Nicole,' Luman said, addressing Nic where she was standing hugging my right leg. His eyes were drilling into the kid and I felt her cringe and put my hand down to her as she took it. 'I'm your grandfather,'

'Fuck off; you're nothing to her either,'

'Language around your kids,'

'Daddy?' Nic asked.

'I'm your Mummy's father,' Luman said to her sweetly and it made my stomach churn.

'You're no one's father – you can't claim that after what you did to the girls,'

'Girls? Sticking up for _that slut_ too,' He said and I knew he was referring to Lucy. 'How is Lucy doing? Still sitting around grieving over Dixon's death, I hope, doing nothing productive. Doesn't surprise me - I always said I should have kept Sam, as you like to call her, not as good as the name I gave her but it will do, and ditched Lucy when I had the chance.'

He was a sick bastard who made my stomach churn. The way he just spoke so loosely about the girls, about my girlfriends and her sister killed me off and I knew if Jason was here, both of would be struggling to make a lid on it.

'You know, giving up Melissa was tricky,' I frowned – who was Melissa? 'Oh, Sam, Sam's birth name is Melissa,' I tried not to care, but it got to me. I don't know why, Sam would always be Sam to me. Luman smiled at me like he knew the impact. 'So, giving up Melissa was tricky but it wasn't a hard decision. Twins are always a bitch to raise – not that you would know – so when Lucy was born, I had to dispose of one of them. Of course, the only boy in my family was her brother, and there was no way I would give up Lukas, so Melissa had to go, be disposed off?'

'You were going to kill her?' I asked, my nose flaring. This son of a bitch was pushing all kinds of buttons.

'I'm a business man, Michael, not a murderer –'

'And those murders last year, the eighteen cases? Dixon? And before that – you tried to kill my sister, for God's sake,'

'Keep a lid on your volatile anger,' Luman warned me, 'We have to wait for the others to make a deal anyway, but those were necessary murders. I was never going to murder a child, no; I removed her memories and left her at Blakeley. It was new, and it didn't have good security. Of course she was my gene pool so I had to keep her safe enough that if I needed her back, I could, and close enough to keep an eye on. I would never have guessed she would be what she is today. I heard that removing kid's memories and making them blank slates fucked them over. I was okay with that. Melissa being the runt of the litter. But no, look at her now. She even has a PhD,' He shook his head. 'I want her back at Kingdom,'

'Not a chance,'

'Oh, yeah, and what do you want her for? To be a house wife? Raise your children? Get a grip, Michael,' Luman said sneering. He opened his mouth to say something but I heard running close by – the sound of boots in the snow crunching on every foot print and twigs snapping underfoot. I turned around to see Joe and Jason just making it into the clearing, and they both gave me a look as if asking if I was okay and the situation at hand was okay. I nodded slightly as Joe continued to run towards me but stopped to kneel beside me, making sure the kids were okay. I heard him mutter something to Nic, so quiet I could barely hear, but she nodded straight away and hugged my leg a bit tighter but I could sense that my daughter was doing something beside me and I wondered if somehow, Joe had set her up to do something when this had happened. I wouldn't be surprised. He picked up Lily who had started to cry and hugged her tight. Jason stood to the left of me, back a bit, and I knew he was here for medical reasons but both Joe and Jason had come in bulletproof vests – damn that would have been logical for me – and they both had weapons of some sort.

'Oh, part of you cavalry has arrived. I was sure there would be more. Of course I'm familiar with this one,' He gestured to Joe who gave him the dirtiest look known to man as he hugged Lily tight to him, hand on the back of her head. 'But this one, I have no idea who he is,' He referred to Jason and it hit me. He had no idea who Jason was – he has lost track of Lucy completely and had no idea the link between Lucy and Jason or didn't match Jason up to him.

'There's more coming,' Jason sneered already wanting to throttle him. Jason had a more impulsive attitude – a do it now and thinks about the consequences later and was more than likely to try and beat the shit out of him. 'You're surrounded; you and you're posse,'

'Your friend has been watching too many action movies,' He told me, pointing to Jason and I heard in the background someone else walking up to the clearing but I didn't make an effort to turn. 'Where was I? Oh, yeah, how useless girls are. I apologise for you both for having daughters, not worth it. I prefer boys,'

'It's because you're a narrow minded dick,' Jason muttered. He was still extremely angry for all he had done to his fiancé and I was joining him on that boat now, but I knew there was no point poking the bear before the time had come. I turned around and shook my head at him and he clenched his jaw. However, I looked down slightly and noticed there was footprints appearing on the floor by no one and knew that Lucy was among us too, using her invisibility shield which meant, when Jason said that they were surrounded, it was true an all of them would be invisible.

'Keep it together,' Luman told him, 'We all know who would win in a head to head between us so save yourself the embarrassment, what I was saying was sons are so much more loyal, they know the true meaning of family loyalty unlike the other two, don't they, Lukas?'

Another man in a suit came out from the trees – with bright blue eyes and brown hair, a smug appearance as he looked down as all but the splitting appearance was there between him and Sam and I took a juddered breath. This is what she was related too and what she was so scared of me finding out about. She had barely looked into it herself from the fear of it and in all honesty I don't blame her. She had been living in too much fear and soon, she wouldn't have too. If they were going to shoot me, I would make sure I wouldn't go down alone.

'Yes, of course I am loyal unlike my two sluts that genetics refers to as my sisters, I thought Lucy would have known better, being under my tuition at all times, but it shows how the real world can influence you, what bitter effects it has on an individual, and now she's living alone in a flat in Bournemouth with no family, no husband, no children, nothing she was promised in Kingdom,' Lukas said in a very formal tone, before heading back into the tree line – still visible compared to before but keeping a distance.

'I beg to differ,' I heard Lucy say from somewhere but I didn't turn around, not wanting to break her guard. 'The real world is a place, unfalsified and pure unlike the sex workshop you're running, father mine, but you need to hire some better spies. I moved out of Bournemouth months ago, perhaps even years ago. Seems like even your standards are dropping,'

I saw the surprised look on Luman's face for a second, but he hid it well. Lukas didn't and remained opened mouth looking in surprise. Lucy had dropped her shield then, and I turned around to see her in her Maui wear – in fabric that helped aid her gift that was incredibly tight fitting so it was almost another layer of skin – but it emphasised her figure incredibly well. She was holding Tyler, who was decked out in a ski suit, before she handed him over to Jason.

'I had everything you promise, but I had it all on my own free will – not forced into marriage, brainwashed into believing the work you did was good and humane, not forced into the hospital beds and impregnated and forced to lie there for two months. You're not running a utopian society, you're running a living hell with a breeding stock,' Lucy spat at him.

'My youngest daughter, they say rebellion hits hard with the youngest,' Luman said, eyeing her up. 'You caused so many heartbreaks, but we would still welcome you back,' He made a move forward.

'Don't touch her,' Jason shouted and Lucy turned around and gave him a look and he took a step back, gently bouncing around Tyler who must have woken up.

Luman looked between those two.

'Oh, I thought someone like you would have standards,' He said directing the comment towards Jason as Lucy took a step towards him, almost sizing up, before slapping him full force. I heard a click of a gun and immediately pulled Lucy back, slightly harshly but I immediately mouthed an apology to her and she nodded, before walking back over to Jason who put an arm around her waist as Luman held his face, eyes blazing, before straightening up and looking at the trio.

'Who's the Christmas ornament,' He said addressing the lump of cloths Jason looked like he was carrying. I sensed another body has shown up and turned to the other side, seeing Ella coming out of the woods silently and up behind Joe, gently whispering something to Lily before standing next to Joe. Luman didn't even notice her slick appearance and I wouldn't have either if I wasn't trying to read brain patterns.

'Oh, that's my son,' Lucy said.

'Son?'

'Yeah, you know, like I said, you need better surveillance,' Lucy said, rubbing Tyler's cheek.

'My second grandchild, first to carry my bloodline,' Luman said walking towards Lucy but the look she gave him even made me freeze.

'He's nothing to you,' Lucy told him and he froze.

'See, your "Sam" is like this too, I bet,' Luman said, using air apostrophes for her name, 'Oh, when did you appear?' He snarled at Ella but Ella didn't reply. Sam was the last one here to show up. A part of me hoped she would stay away, safe, so she didn't see this. Ella looked at him like she was mentally hanging, drawing and quartering him mentally.

'Very stroppy and disrespectful. So much like your parents, mainly your mother. God, she used to sulk so much when she didn't get her way,' He sneered and Ella must have reacted as I noticed a small grin on Luman's face, 'I knew your parents well, you two, very well indeed,'

'Before you murdered them?' Ella asked.

'It was a necessary means,'

'Murdering is never –'

'Let me speak, disrespectful bitch,'

'Don't you dare,' Joe shouted back at him.

'I knew your Mum from a young age, Karilyn. She was the rebellious one in her family strangely enough – but she was the youngest one. She flew over to England the second she finished High School, enrolled for university, and when she was over there for the first four weeks she decided to stay with some family friends in Norfolk. They were in the middle of Government negotiation to set up an organisation to work alongside secret services within the UK but to deal with the rise within Savant crime. They called the initial paperwork project Maui. They asked Karilyn to help with her unique set of gifts but she decided to help but in free time whilst she attended Cambridge university. She was smart and we were in the same class together. She sat at the front, notepad in hand when I walked in. She was beautiful – the splitting image of you, Ella, but taller, but I suppose even legalised midgets are taller than you. I met her in a bar, kicked it off. We were together for quite a few months.'

I laughed out loud. As if my mum would have such low standards.

'Michael,' He said in a warning tone. I looked over my left shoulder and saw Lucy standing next to Jason, with Tyler in her arm and over my right shoulder Ella was giving him the death glare but it looked like parts of it made sense to her. I knew Saul had told her a lot about her mother, whilst I went for a distancing technique with the less information I know, the less I had to confront my childhood of no love, no family, and a sister half way across the world that I knew had survived the crash but apart from that I had no idea how she was. Whilst both of us blamed each other for the years of silence, I blame myself. My foster parents never allowed me to contact Ella and when I was old enough to have my own phone and make the decision for myself I was too scared to call her. She was my hurt kid sister and I gave up on her and if someone happened in that time it would have been my fault but because my foster parents didn't overly want me when I grew up, or want any mentions of the crash within the house, that I was in a way conditioned into not wanting to know anything about the past. Which is why I found the information about Mum so hard to digest whilst Ella was annoyed but she was understand it. Joe was focused on calming Lily down.

I gritted my teeth and he nodded slightly.

'You can try and argue however much you fancy, Michael, but it happened. We were close, me and Karilyn, really close but she used to disappear every weekend from campus told me she goes to live with some family, even during the reading week she left. My parents weren't good people in her books, they used their gifts to corrupt people but it was for the right reason; they were trying to weedle out any people who tried to control out gifts as Savant's, constrain them. They are gifts from God's and why should we control them when we are the greater species, the future of humanity,'

Okay, this guy was delusional and has watched _way too many_ futuristic movies.

'They filed through the leaked paperwork to me about project Maui and on the fourth sheet in, of backers with Savant genetics, Karilyn's name was on there, quite high up, and her entire family was listed too. I wasn't angry or upset; I just wanted to know why she never told me. I found out the last day of term before the Christmas semester break, and went around and her dorm mates said she left the night previous back to her family house. She called me up Christmas Eve breaking up with me, I asked her why and she didn't reply, just apologised,'

I could predict what happened but I just continued to breathe heavily.

'She never came back to university the semester after, we got told she dropped out but she loved the work she was doing there, she had gained extra funding through the year too, and she was a transfer student and everyone loved her. She had no reason to drop out but no one thought it was odd as much as I did. I kept an eye on Project Maui hoping it would explain something and in the end of September, it did. The last lot of initiation paperwork came through, approving the new service called Maui, and along the leaders was Karilyn, and however she was on maternity leave and married. She just left me straight up without an explanation and got married and had Christopher.'

I thought for a moment – was there a chance that Chris was his son? I mean, he looked like both Ella and I did but we took after out mother for a lot of our traits but was there a chance that Chris could be Luman's son? That would throw a spanner in this works but I hoped he wasn't. I looked over at Ella and it was clear this was all new information to her and she looked back at me having the same doubts. I quickly checked on Nic, who was still hugging my leg, her forehead pressed against it as she hugged it but the way she was gently whispering words that were barely audible I knew she was using her gift. I don't know what for, but she was.

'And do you want to know what her first job was when she came back from maternity leave? To shut my parents down. After all I had done for her that was her first move. It carried on for twelve years and I had enough with her, after all I had done for her this was how she treated me. I took over my parents businesses, I made them successful and I made them what they are today, we decided to build a shelter from Maui and their demanding rules and ways to live life. We called it Kingdom and we only took the elite at the beginning. I wanted to hurt her God damn family, destroy them, I never wanted to murder anyone, and I stilled loved Karilyn. I planned the car crash so that both Karilyn and her husband lived but I got control of all of her seven children. I had fake ambulances a few miles behind them, so when it happened we could take the children and get out. We had men on the inside to fake death certificates. We wanted you all to grow up in Kingdom and then go back when you're twenty one and prove that her work was wrong. I never wanted to destroy her, I just wanted to hurt her and destroy her work.'

'The car crash went wrong. The lorry was told to stop but it didn't, it killed both Karilyn and her husband, and the kids, but we got out Chris and Cameron and took them with us, but some rat had called the real paramedics and they already had hold of both you and Ella so we had to take the two boys and hope you two weren't do gooders,' He said before rolling his eyes,

'Of course you were, so we went to kill Ella with the whole bomb thing and you outsmarted that, I then kidnapped you lot and you outsmarted that. You have Karilyn's resilience, you know that? So then I had to focus on killing you off instead,' He looked over to me.

'Killing wasn't what I wanted though, I wanted to destroy you. Bit by bit, tear you apart. At least your sister was smart enough to outsmart me – twice – but you? Nah, you couldn't do it once. I had one of my recruits – she had just graduated from Blakeley - come and work with you for a while to plan you out but she failed that. I say failed, but I heard you and Brooklyn had a bit of fun... shall we say,' He looked down at Nic and I immediately put a hand out to protect her. 'I'm not a child murderer, calm down, we have already discussed that.'

I clenched my jaw.

'So when she said she was pregnant with your child, it was perfect. But she gave the child up and we knew we could do so much more with this child than just raise it to obey my rules; we were going to raise her to be a weapon for you. A personalised grenade to blow up in your face - so to speak. I was amazed when she requested for Nic to be handed over to Sam. I didn't realise who she was until I researched into her. Brooklyn and she had been good friends at school and she trusted her to raise Nic. I agreed, but I had to make sure Nic would be safe first. She wasn't in the best medical states, had a chest infection, Chris looked after he and she shipped her out to Sam, knowing she would eventually be taken back in and taught to hate you, but you got to her before me,'

'And who could have predicted that Sam would like you? It's a punch in the face, Michael, it really is, that you love my disowned daughter,' He sucked his teeth. 'You got to Nic and you taught her right from wrong before we could get to her. Didn't stop us trying. We took both of them, as you know, and we were in the process of shipping them to a secret location to get them trained to hate both of you, to reject you when they see you, but no, you got there before us. And two of my most loyal staff aided you? Bastards. I'll kill them if I ever see them,'

'You won't touch them.'

'Protective of your brothers? You barely know them,' Luman said.

'Michael!' I heard Sam yell and I turned around trying to find her, and turned back around to watch Luman instead – the shock on his face. Sam must have cleared the area because his mouth dropped slightly, and this must have been the first time he saw his eldest daughter since he gave her up when she was just a child. I turned around again, seeing Lucy hold onto her arm, shaking her head slightly at coming any closer to me than she was. She was horribly distressed, her hair flowing all over her face and her eyes wild. She looked at me with such a burning passion that I urged to run over and hold her, tell her everything would be okay and we're both safe but I swore to her I wouldn't lie to her. She covered her mouth in shock and stood back into Lucy who put her hand around her waist.

'Hello, daughter mine,'

'You're nothing to me, you filthy scum,' Sam spat out.

I grinned hearing the words come out of Sam's mouth. Considering how shy she had always been, how she would never bad mouth anyone, the words were dripping with venom and I loved it.

'I made a mistake giving you up, I admit that, but I would take you back any day. The same applies for you Lucy, you've both seen how bitter this World is, and I can protect you from that,'

'You giving me up was the best thing to even happen to me, and there is no way in Hell I would ever "come back" to you,' Sam snarled and I turned around and smiled at her and she met my glance but it was full of sadness. I nodded slightly at her before turning around.

I turned back around to see Luman with his gun out pointing directly at me.

'So, I want to make a deal,'

'What kind of deal?' I sighed; making sure Nic was behind me and doing okay. She didn't notice that Sam had joined us. I looked back over at Sam and she was had tear running down her face already.

'I want my safety back, the same court deal as before, no one can touch me or my property, my wealth or anything in my name, a lump sum of several million pounds from the Government in cash, and the added benefit that Maui cannot search into me or even mention my name,' He said, 'You don't agree, you get shot,'

'Not happening,' I said.

'Oh, you don't think I will,'

'I think you will, but it's not happening,' I replied back and heard Sam sob behind me.

'Your girlfriend seems to think you should take it,' Luman said.

'Well it's not going to happen, so stop putting up your hopes and dreams,' I said and he shook his head, his finger on the trigger.

'You seem certain,'

'It's. Not. Happening.'

'Fine, I'll deal with someone else then,'

And without even thinking, he pulled the trigger and everything went to black.

\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\

 **Hello!**

 **I am so sorry this has been so late; I said around Christmas when I break up but I currently have eight assignments outstanding, and have to go work still over the Christmas period and I'm working a lot in a retail shop doing 6am starts and so on - so here's a slightly longer than normal chapter.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone over the last year who has reviewed and continued this story and are invested in the characters, it really does mean so much to me! Have a great christmas! :)**


	53. Chapter 52 - Sam

**Chapter 52 – Sam**

I turned into Lucy's chest as Luman raised his gun at Michael, with Michael's hands dug into the pockets of his jeans as he refused to accept the offer. Lucy hugged me tight and I heard the gun click as the safety was taken off – but the silence dragged on.

'I'm a businessman, Michael, not a murderer, we have been over this,' He said and I looked. Michael wasn't shot and I saw him look over at me with a smile playing on his face. My dream was wrong, then, he never got shot. I pulled back from Lucy with the biggest grin on my face. 'You lot are my first port of call, I will just make statements until I get what I want.'

I ran over to Michael, and he caught me in one arm, hugging me to his chest and kissing my forehead.

'I told you it would be fine,' He whispered to me, holding me tight. I checked to make sure Nic was still okay and sure enough she was, using her gift to make sure no one entered the perimeter and building a fence-like structure with the trees to make sure everyone who Luman had brought with him remained.

'Bitch,' I heard someone call and I tried to find the voice, only to see Tobias standing next to one of the trees. Luman turned around and nodded and he came out of the tree line. 'After everything I had done for you, this is how you repay me? Bitch!'

'Oi,' Michael said his arm around my waist.

'Let him speak whilst we await the others,' Luman told me and Michael gently, 'I'm sure the Benedict's will be here any second...' He said looking around the woods before turning his attention to me. I pulled down my shirt self consciously as Michael hugged me tighter to his chest. He had also noticed the glances that I was getting from my father. But calling him my father made me feel sick. He had given me up when I was kid to raise a son instead – my twin brother – and then does all of this to my family? He was nothing to me. I looked over at Lucy who was gently murmuring something to Jason, who continued to bounce around Tyler slightly.

'After everything I had done for you, Sam, the only reason I came back to Blakeley was for you, to look after you on His request,' Tobias said, coming closer. I noticed he was in the Kingdom soldier gear and had a gun tucked down his waistband but I knew he wouldn't shoot – he wasn't like that. However, I did think he was the last person who would stab me in the back to this magnitude. I'm learning all kinds of things about my childhood crush today. 'He offered me a job, and that job was to make sure that you were okay no matter what would happen to Savant's – he knew you were affiliated with Maui, and he didn't want you hurt,'

'Who's he?' Luman asked him and Tobias sighed.

'So Sir got in contact with me, telling me that if I didn't project you, you would die, all I had to do was keep an eye on you and every two weeks meet up with Sir in an undisclosed location to tell him how you are –'

'The rugby club meetings on every other Saturday?' I asked.

'You are so _dumb_ Sam, how do you have a PhD?' Tobias laughed at me. 'Of course I wasn't going to a rugby club, my only job was to keep an eye on you, and should you ever learn about the stuff your own father was doing to Savant's to keep you safe,' He mocked.

'Why?' I asked him.

'The greater good, Sam,'

'Right,' I scoffed and he frowned.

'All these people you call the "do gooders", what use have they been to you? They allowed your own daughter to get kidnapped? They've taken you from your home twice, three times if you include last night against your own will, who does that if they're good, hey?' Tobias said.

'Drop that tone,' Michael protested but I felt a wave of influential power gently caress my mind.

'Come home,' Tobias said softly. I want to go home. 'Come back to Kingdom where you'll be safe,' He said. I want to be safe. I could hear faint voices in the background and there was a shock as I went back to harsh reality. I was in Michael's arms – he was freezing, how long had he been outside? – And he was gently muttering words to me. I shook my head and frowned at him.

'You back?' He whispered to me and I nodded – where did I go? Michael gently brushed his lips against mine before pulling me tight towards him and continued to stare out Luman. He must find it slightly amusing that he was genetically linked to the person he's spent so long shutting down and taking out of business' daughter – no? I looked up at him and he frowned but shook his head. No – he didn't find it amusing. He raised his eyebrow and I could basically hear the "oh, you're nothing like him," line but I was awashed with guilt.

Perhaps I was? I was a psychologist – I knew there was all kinds of biological factors within aggression; an aggressive "gene" that can lead to criminalisation – look at the positivist school of criminology who suggested that criminals were genetically disposition to become criminals. They have factors within their genetic makeup. Lombroso himself states there was differences within the criminal make up that was put down to genetics. And biological approaches to not only crime but also aggression suggests the acts are built into someone's DNA – neurotransmitters, hormones, genes, personality types – all of it was passed on. And being a twin meant I had the same genes as someone else. I looked into the tree line and saw someone else who looked like Luman but younger and – well – he looked a bit like me and Lucy too. Although being a dizygotic twin meant we were brother and sister who just happened to be born at the same time and didn't have the exact same genetic makeup.

I then had to take a moment to reassure myself that the environment placed a massive part on being a trigger for anything genetic; take me and my twin brother for example – one grew up in a school with limited friends and eating disorders whilst the other grew up being centre of attention, trigger happy moron. He was aggressive and deviant to start with – I wasn't. I don't think I was at least and If I ever started to become aggressive and follow in the footsteps of my father and brother, I would want to be locked up forever and make them throw away the key.

'None of that funny business, Princess,' I heard Ella snarl behind me.

'I'm glad you knew my gift – Sam never did. I told her it was something to do with maths and I never use it but oh, was she wrong, ' He shook his head at me. 'Naive, this idiot,'

'Watch it,' Michael snarled and he was very close to losing it and I knew in a second that if Nic wasn't hanging onto his jean leg, he would have flipped. He was maintaining extremely calm but he was pushing every button.

'You... you were behind the kidnapped children,' I gasped as the realisation hit me. In the meeting, the day after I met Michael, they asked who took all the kidnapped children to the airport the day they were kidnapped. It was myself and Tobias, and that was why I always felt guilty – because it felt like it was my fault. But it was Tobias himself.

'Of course, I was supplying the information. You were the perfect cover,' Tobias said and Michael looked down at me, hugging me a tiny bit tighter.

'You were too naive to realise what we had, and you always said you couldn't work and have Nic and a relationship so I was trying to rule one of them out – if I got you to quit, you'd have to move in with me, and then I would take you back to Kingdom where you belong,'

'You're a monster,'

'No, you are the real monster, you and this bastard,'

'Don't,' Michael growled.

Tobias walked slowly in front of me, standing there before I forced myself to make eye contact. Inside his eyes still had a small glimmer of the old Tobias; happiness and fun, guidance and a brotherly figure but the rest was like looking into the eyes a sharks carcass.

'You weren't the only one that was naive. We share the same link to Nic,'

I laughed – I actually laughed in his face. He frowned.

'Your link to her is through Michael, the Soulfinder bond, and you call her your daughter,' He shook his head, walking past Michael and crouching down to see Nic. I looked behind Michael as Nic flinched away from him. 'Hey, Nic, it's me, you know I won't hurt you,'

Nic burst out into tears and he shook his head and walked away. Ella walked forward, gently saying something to Nic and she released Michael's jean leg as Ella picked up a sobbing Nic, but I felt something in my jean pocket appear. I tried not to make it obvious as I "itched my back" and felt that Ella had placed a gun in my back pocket and my eyes had widened. I had never held nor seen a real gun before, never fired one and I am certain that she made a mistake giving it to me – perhaps she just doesn't like holding firearms whilst she is looking after children? Or perhaps she left it there knowing Michael could get to it easily.

'Brainwashed your kid too,' Luman shook his head in shock, 'carry on agent,'

Tobias nodded courteously before continuing. 'So, as Brooklyn was my Soulfinder, the same logic would make Nic my daughter too, right?'

I saw something drop in Michael; the suggestion was too much for him. The ball had started to roll and he was not having any of it.

'You are going nowhere near her; you do not touch her or even look at her,'

'What are you going to do, Princess?' He snarled. 'Sam, my issue was never with you and you know I would take you and Nic back under my care if you give up this family dress up game you have going on here, my issue has always been with this one. Knocking up my Soulfinder and calling the kid your own? Hey? The months you spent with her – she lied to you about everything – you don't even know her proper name – she didn't even tell you how old she was, you think she was younger than you but oh so wrong, you are a bastard, a murdering bastard –' Tobias snapped.

He went to go and punch Michael, but straight away Michael caught the fist, twisted it back around and got Tobias in a headlock grip, moving his hand from around my waist to hold the struggling Tobias in place. Luman looked up in interest now.

'He was getting a bit whiny wasn't he?' Luman mocked. 'Ah well, first anger speech. Got to run the new boys in, I thought he would be a good waste of time until the Benedict's get here,' I could hear Tobias struggling for breath and trying to get his way out of the headlock. I also knew Michael could snap his neck if he wanted too. He looked over at me, mouthing "sorry" before looking back at Luman – what was he sorry for?

'Lukas,' Luman sighed and the brother came forwards. 'Where are the Benedict's – Vick and Trace are the ones we want, where are they?'

'They left the house about five minutes ago, heading down to the car park. They should be heading back up here soon,'

My eyes widened slightly – that was the plan. I looked over my shoulder at Nic who now had her head buried in Ella's shoulder as she continued to do the plan. If my girl was able to do what we had hoped she would, we could not need to worry about anyone else apart from the three directly in front of us. We had taught Nic how to use her gift to make cages for people – not cages at first. Cameron, Ella, Chris and myself had sat down a few days ago and started weaving wood to make boxes – and then Cameron and Ella started to make her weave slightly bigger posts, and even more until she had successfully built a box, around seven foot high, four foot by four foot at the bottom. We had explained to her what we wanted her to do – we wanted her to sense nature distraction based on when people were walking by trees and on roots, and then make these boxes (which she was able to make in less than a minute and I knew in that moment if she can do that when she was four, she was going to be a bloody strong Savant but I only had to look at her Dad in order to explain why her gifts were so strong) and lower them onto them, using nature to root them down. It would make all of Luman's associates into prison cells that were inescapable and everyone knew there was no chance fighting them. They were sound proof to a certain extend and Nic had mastered how to make the trees take naughty stuff like guns away. Cameron was in charge of explaining all of this in child terms but Nic understood what she had to do.

Vick had set cameras up in the woods at the points north of where I had the dream – which was here. He said he would leave the house when all apart from the three I vaguely saw in the dream who must be the three in front, were locked in their boxes. I then looked up into the foliage of the trees and saw a box being weaved expertly by Nic – she had become somewhat of an expert overnight – and look back down again.

'How long a walk is that?

'A few minutes, most,' Lukas said before eyeing me up and down and I cringed.

'And the two missing soldiers? Any signs?'

'Nope, they were probably taken to Denver with Will earlier, keep them away from us,'

They had fallen for this plan completely – Cameron and Chris would soon be in the woods making sure the wooden boxes were secure and removing weapons. We had outsmarted one of the men.

'Let him go, Michael, he's a foot soldier. This isn't about him, this is about us big boys,' Luman teased and I saw the muscles ripple in his arms – he didn't want to let him go. But he did, pushing him away as he did. Tobias rubbed his neck.

'Foot soldier?' Tobias asked, 'I have done nothing but be your slave for years and all I am is a foot soldier,'

'I asked you to keep my daughter safe and away from the people at Maui – oh looks like you did a really good job there,' Luman mocked.

'I did keep her away,'

Luman looked up comically at everyone before back at Tobias, a tight smug grin on his face. 'Oh, and look where she is standing right now. You let your personal feelings for Melissa get in the way – sorry, Sam, I don't know if you was here for that part, your name is actually Melissa – you let your feelings for Melissa play with you and when she found someone else she liked you sulked like a four year old boy.'

Tobias was seething – his jaw clenched, eyes burning. He was extremely volatile.

'Brooklyn was a slut anyway, I don't care if you did know her since she was six, and she deserved what she got much like you will too –' Luman sneered, holding him by the scruff of his neck. I wasn't too sure what I was expecting after – it was like a film – but Tobias collapsed. 'Leave, I don't want to see your petty face again,' Luman threw him back telekinetically against a tree, snow falling from its branches perilously as Tobias landed on the floor.

'Back to business then,' Luman said. 'I'm sure you will understand this situation will only escalate if we take it further than this point, you can ring your Government officials if needed but I have two out the three managers here and that's enough authorisation –'

A bang went through the otherwise still air as a gun went off and I looked around trying to find out who shot who. Everything was in slow motion; Tobias standing in the tree line again but with his firearm out, angular to his body as he aimed for Luman's back and with a single bullet shot him. I barely had time to realise he had moved his gun from Luman and aimed it towards myself and Michael.

Rash of the moment, to protect the only thing that matters to me the most, the only thing worth living for, I pulled the gun out of my pocket given to me by Ella. I had never fired a gun and I had no idea what I was doing but I knew I had to protect him. Ella had given it to me for a reason, and the reason was I had to protect my boyfriend, my Soulfinder and the father to my daughter. He was worth saving even if it meant I was a criminal or even worse a murderer. Even if I had to go through prison time, if it meant Michael still was alive at the end of this ordeal I would do it in a heartbeat. I thought my dream wouldn't come true after Luman said he was a businessman, but now it will but I had a chance to save him. I had to save Michael. It was an incredibly split moment decision, but I knew what I had to do. Michael was still frowning at Luman and I'm sure no one else had time to process what had happened and without even thinking about the consequences, I aimed for Tobias' chest.

I watched him pull the trigger and I did the exact same thing, my wrist jarring back painfully as the bullet went flying out of the gun and straight into Tobias' body – I couldn't work out where but it looked like either the shoulder, upper chest or neck and I knew the latter would be a kill shot. I also saw two flashes of a gun from the other side, where Lukas had taken out his firearm but rather than directing it at Tobias, he aimed it at Michael. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw all three bullets hit Michael – one in the chest, two in the upper thigh.

Everything happened so slowly from that point and I witnessed it like I was a bird flying around; the bullets I fired from the gun that was in my hand – now falling to the floor – hit Tobias as he staggered backwards, clutching his chest. Nic, who must have senses something was up, dropped the woven baskets of Luman and Lukas – catching them both and I saw the speed of the vines on the floor anchoring them down and I took a few nanosecond to admire the skill and precision of her gift – I was so glad Michael had the time to take her to the woods to practise with nature. He used to disappear with her for three or four hours in a row and she would come back saying how she managed to make saplings grow, or flowers, and Michael had taught her how to weave wood around itself, and the vines too – and now she was using it for the own good. And it was incredible – it had caught two criminals that were never able to be caught before.

I looked over at Michael and he just looked confused. He looked over at me for a second, still not quite with what was happening. His hand went to his chest, where there was a growing red, damp patch just below his heart, and he pressed down before slowly removing his hand, looking at the blood on his hand. And then he fell backwards, losing consciousness before the pain hit him thankfully. Joe darted forward quickly, pulling Nic out of the way.

'Michael!' I shouted as everything seemed to fly into life again. People ran in from the tree lines, Jason darted forward and Xav appeared a few seconds later, both of them talking to each other in medical code about stats or something, and they put pressure on the bullet wounds. Lucy handed over Tyler to Karla, and Nic and Lily both ran over to her as she guided the children back down the hill before they could see too much. Joe knocked out Tobias with his gift, before running over and removing the gun and checking how secure the baskets were. 'Michael, please,'

'Sam, come on,' Cameron was beside me, gently trying to pull me away, 'the paramedics are nearly here, we have an air ambulance waiting in the car park that has the clearance to land,' He told me softly.

'Is he alive?'

'Faint pulse, but he's still breathing,' Jason told me but it wasn't reassuring. Faint pulse?

'Sam, listen to me, listen to me sweetheart,' Cameron said as he held my arms. I noticed I was shaking and the tears were streaming down my face which provided me warmth but it wasn't much. 'You're going into shock,'

'But...'

I held my breath slightly, before turning around and throwing up on the grass.

'Shock,' Cameron muttered, kneeling beside me as I fell to my knees and held my hair back, 'Breathe through it sweetheart, this is all because of the shock, there is nothing wrong with you. Michael will be just fine,'

'He was shot, Cameron,' I squealed with tears choking me, 'Where was he shot?'

'It looks like the bullet they're most concerned about his left lung, just under his heart. It's punctured his lung and he's having trouble breathing which is why they've got his bagged and why his pulse is slowly down,' Cameron explained to me, 'They'll put a tube down his throat the second they're in the air but there's nothing they can do until they're in surgery apart from stem the bleeding,'

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

'They're taking him to Denver international; it's the best place for him to go. I'll drive you down,' Cameron said and I looked over at Michael who looked dead, the snow around him turning into a red slush and I started to cry again.

'Drive?'

'There's no room in the chopper –the boys have to go with him to keep the blood loss to a minimum. All three wounds are bleeding internally and if they don't have it stemmed –'

'Don't say anymore, Cam,' Chris said, pulling me into a hug. 'It'll be okay, Sam,'

'He's going to die,' I whispered.

'He won't die; he's a hell of a fighter.' Chris whispered back to me, 'And I've only known him for a few days, the cold is helping him as it's reducing the damage on a cellular level, once Ella is calm enough she will chill him further,'

I looked over at Ella who was crying too into Joe's chest, and Joe was calming her down quickly. She looked up at the moment I did and saw the palpable fear on my face and she took a juddery breath. She must have known how urgent the situation was as she looked back at Joe, who just nodded to her, and closed her eyes. Second later, the air ambulance and paramedic crew lifted Michael onto a stretcher, anda few seconds after that they made their way down the hill with Jason and Xav working on Michael like they did. Ella must have chilled him then.

'Sam, I'm going to put you out for two hours, so you can drive to Denver. We will bring you around if there are any updates about Michael which aren't good, if you wake up in the hospital everything will be okay. This is for your own sake,' Joe said to me urgently, pulling me into a hug.

'No –'

'I'm sorry, Sam, you already agreed to it,' He told me urgently and the darkness hit me like a black wall as he forced me to sleep.

Hello!

Sorry I have been so busy, I've had around 16 assignments to do all of which were due in within a month. I still have about three more to go. However the main reason I kind of stopped for a while was quite simply I believed everyone had gone off it - I had next to no reviews, and then I had a total of 7 negative, horrible comments about me. So i assumed. If you want me to comment, please do let me know.


	54. Chapter 53 - Michael

**Chapter 53 – Michael**

I wasn't liked much in school, and this is a blanket statement for my entire educational life up until the age of eighteen when I headed to university. The first six years of my life were spot on; a family who doted on me, older brothers and sisters to protect me in the playground when I started nursery and reception, and a younger sister to pick on, and big brothers to protect me, and big sisters to dote on me. I started in my first years of school fine but when you're five and all your doing for three hours a day, either in a morning or afternoon session, is painting, playing toys or playing outside on climbing equipment and none of it was anything overly important. It was after the crash everything went bottoms up.

The crash happened over the Christmas period; I broke up from school on the twenty-first which was fairly normal, I had a stash of Christmas cards all of them handwritten by children in chunky crayons which were overseen by parents. We sat down as a family on Christmas Eve to watch a film, woke up Christmas day to see Santa had arrived, had dinner, played with toys, went to bed. Did a bit of shopping the day after on Boxing day and then packed out bags to fly over to see Uncle Saul and Auntie Karla in America along with our cousins who were around the same age as all of us – we would spend New Year's over there like we normally do. It was all normal until the crash.

I was a miracle in the whole crash. Nurses, paramedics, firefighters, crash forensics, doctors, psychiatrists, you name it, they all called me a miracle because all I had was a few bruises and broken bones whilst everyone else had died and the only other survivor – my sister – had funeral plans for her because they said she wasn't going to make it. She did, obviously, but for four months they told everyone not to buy her anything as she wasn't going to pull through.

I was fostered, never adopted, by my Uncle and Aunt of my Dad's side of the family. They did it more because they were my Godparents and they were fulfilling their duties as such but they made it very clear to me they weren't my parents – they didn't want to be called Mum and Dad from the start. I moved in with them and had a small box room in the corner of the house which I never shared with any of the family and hid in there most of the time. I was enrolled at a new school. I struggled to make friends, and everyone thought I was weird.

Perhaps I was – my entire family died and I was whisked away elsewhere and everyone expected me to be normal. How can you be normal after that? I struggled with it for years and not seeing Ella didn't help at all. I got updates that she woke up and so on and I saw her but they said we couldn't see or speak to her for five years whilst the investigation was pending and when it was confirmed it was murder rather than an accident, both sets of parents – Saul and Karla with Ella, and my foster parents, made sure we didn't speak. I was very anti social in that times, depressed, not want to do anything with my life. I was fourteen when we started speaking to each other properly again, texting each other and late night phone calls and MSN webcam calls but she had grown up massively but you could see the struggles. She got diagnosed with insomnia which made the webcam chats a bit easier but it was still awful.

I barely passed my GCSE's and my A-levels with the guilt resting on me, but then at eighteen I practically got kicked out of my house from my foster parents and was told to fend for myself so I went to university and decided rather than grieving my families death, to make them proud instead. Maui agreed to take me on for more hard case than I was doing since I was fourteen, and balancing university life and a full time job was challenging but rewarding too. I was doing something good.

I really did struggle with everything only to find out the guy who had done all of that – put my family through so much pain, murdering half of my siblings in front of me and my parents too – putting the strain and grief on my sister and myself and hiding my two older brothers in his own personal Hell was my Soulfinder's father.

I knew the boyfriend and his girlfriend's father weren't meant to get on but this was taking it to a whole new level.

And I had to stand there and watch as her old friend flaunted his traitor side in front of Sam, killing her off, but I knew better than to speak. I knew Ella would have a recording device on her and I would place my entire savings on the area being bugged and cameras recording to be used in court. I knew they had a plan to take him down or we wouldn't be in Colorado and no one would be so calm.

The last thing I remember seeing was Sam looking up at me with those great, ice blue eyes that were swimming in tears. But before that, I saw her shoot Tobias – where did she get the gun from? How did she even know how to shoot? I smiled but it felt like my mouth was filled with copper coils and it was warm. Something spilt over my chin. Good for her.

However now I didn't know where I was – I couldn't feel my body and breathing seemed to be a momentous task. Maybe it was time to go to bed?

Oh – I get it now.

'Stats are dropping – get the crash cart!' Someone yelled but it was too late. It was time for me to go, at long last, go join my family.

Don't bother with the cart; just take a moment to appreciate the world and what is around you. You never notice it until it's almost too late, the things you should appreciate. The smell of rain on a warm summer's day, or in winter when it hits the car and it makes a nice ringing metallic noise that appears to soothe away any rough bits. The way tree leaves fall in autumn into the road whilst you are driving like Mother Nature is throwing natural confetti at you, celebrating getting this far in life. Or how the world falls silent as it snows in a magical way – even nature seems to stop for a moment to appreciate snow. Or as the fire burns in winter, the gentle cracking of wood in the fireplace. The first sip of tea in the morning, or the first time you sit down after a long shift at work. The way your little sister sits there as she does work, completely absorbed in her own mind but you never seem to tell her enough how much she means to you and you hope that she knows, in her heart of hearts, that you love her to pieces. The way your family and friends evolve around you, all sentient beings who value life, and value you too.

I never spent much attention on these things. You never stop to notice how much people care about you until it's too late. It hurt, knowing I would never see Sam smile again, or kiss Nic goodnight after her bedtime story, or see my little sister sitting cross legged like a child at the table frowning in concentration. Or my friends, who never mention anything to me about feelings or anything, but I know they care. I'll never tell them again how much they mean to me. If I could urge anyone to do something, it's to let them know how much their loved ones mean to them, as you only learn how to truly regret when it's already too late. And it sucks.

Sorry, Sam.

/\\\\\\\\\/\\\\\\\\\/\\\\\\\\\

 **Hello again!**

 **Firstly, I owe an explanation as to the long break. I have been absolutely swamped in work for university, and as I procrastinated more and more the essays have built up and with deadlines coming thick and fast. Even now, I have seven essays due in within the next three weeks and exams shortly after so I haven't had much time to write. Although, small lie there as I am writing another book (perhaps on this site, perhaps on another) as well as starting to draft the one that will be published but even I'm struggling with them.**

 **It has taken a while to get back into the swing of things. I thought these were getting repetitive and dry - and I still do - but it is a bit too late to change anything and I didn't want people to get so bored reading what felt like the same thing over and over again without any flair of creativity. Whilst I was quite proud of how everything all came together, it became a bit dry. I'm not sure if you felt the same but that was what it felt like for me. It was time that I took a break, focused on the balance between full-time fast track degree and working and also just relaxing and doing other stuff, this took the sideline as I took a while to think what I would want to do with the rest of it, even though the vast majority was set in stone even though the hints were subtle so I'm not entirely sure if you guys know what is happening.**

 **I do have some chapters already written - this is one of them - and I do plan to upload them when I have the time and I do want to finish this, and Capturing Ella (yup, that still has some chapters left) and I think people will be glad to hear this Shattering Lucy will be finished soon as well. That is taking some more time because I'm trying to think of ways to make it different from Ella's story but it's pretty tricky.**

 **I haven't taken a complete gap from Fanfiction and do read the odd one here and there, ones like Uncover and Protecting Grace, when I have time but that isn't often.**

 **In reference to nasty comments, the ones sent in from anonymous guests criticising people's uploading schedules, I would only ask for you to consider people's exterior commitments as it takes a hell of a lot longer to write a chapter than it does to read it - a chapter like this will take ten minutes or so to read, but has taken a good few hours to write and another hour to proofread and correct and so on and even so it will still have mistakes ingrained. So please, before getting a bit arsey in the reviews about why I haven't updated or how it's a waste of time, take a moment to think. Because I do see the reviews and being like that will put people off uploading more frequently.**

 **So, I will eventually get around to finishing these three (well, four, depending if you want me to continue deluding Ella?) I promise, but it may take me some time as essays and university have to take priority.**

 **However, thank you so much for those who, over the last forty-three days according to the document manager, that have left nice reviews across the three fanfictions or private messages. Whilst I haven't replied, I have got the email notifications and it was that in the end that has spurred me to come back and at least finish this book and Shattering Lucy (seriously, I promise I will get around to finishing that) and I really do hope you all understand! xx**


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